Dark Fall
by ATGS
Summary: The Tipton Hotel was once the site of the largest missing persons case in recorded history and has been abandoned ever since. And when Cody Martin arrives to search for his missing brother, he finds himself in danger as well...
1. Prologue

**Dark Fall**

**Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own the Suite Life of Zack and Cody or the PC Adventure game this story is adapted from.**

**Opening Notes: While this story may be an adaption of a point and click horror/mystery PC game, it is an extremely loose adaption. Only the very basic outline of the game's story has been adhered to. The story of this fanfic is completely different from the original game by about 70%. The location and setting have been completely changed from rural England to the bustling city of Boston. The disappearances are not few and subject to being considered urban myth like in the game; they are instead of a very massive number and a worldwide phenomenon in this version. Many creepy scenes in this story do not come from the game; a number of scenes are loosely based off notable moments from the game and are redone here; the plot twists toward the end of the story are not in the game, particularly the secret room that Cody finds and the revelations therein; the strange dreams that Cody has throughout are not in the game; the final revelation/twist pertaining to Cody and Zack are not in the game; ect. ect. That being said, if you like the story, I recommend checking out the original game. It's a simple bit of creepy fun to be had with the lights out on a nice evening. For now, hope you all enjoy this story.**

**Prologue**

**Boston Herald – July 6, 1956**

**Authorities Baffled Over Mysterious Disappearances**

Police are baffled by what could possibly be the most bizarre case in our nation's history to date. It was just over two days ago when more than 400 guests of the local Tipton Hotel, along with the entire staff and owner Mr. Tipton himself, vanished completely without a trace. This spectacular event first came to light when a guest arriving to check in on the morning of yesterday noticed upon arrival that the hotel was completely deserted. Sensing that something was extremely wrong, especially considering the hotel didn't show any signs of abandonment, the man contacted authorities who immediately arrived on the scene. A thorough search of the hotel grounds confirmed there was indeed not a sign of life in the building.

Yet it looked as if nobody ever left the hotel. Luggage, items and personal effects were all found. Rooms were just as if they were still occupied, sans the guests themselves. Though the guests were gone, their rooms did not reflect this, and there is no logical reason for close to 500 people to just up and leave everything behind.

The hotel had just the previous night celebrated the chain's 25th Anniversary at the Boston location with a magnificent ball. Anybody who considered themselves anybody attended. The wealthy, press, and local politicians, were all there that night, and all of them are currently missing as of today.

The City Council has set up a massive organized search party for the surrounding areas operating around the clock 24/7, but no traces have turned up. It's as if the missing people literally fell off the face of the planet!

But how do several hundred people completely disappear without a trace? Rumors are already flying, and none of them are pretty. Terrorism is the most popular one. Some people are citing UFOs. But many others are more rationally theorizing that maybe Mr. Tipton himself had something to do with it. There are accounts that Mr. Tipton had always been on the eccentric side, very secretive, and kept to himself.

Still, there's nothing to indicate that Mr. Tipton himself was dangerous, and everyone who knew him (who wasn't there that night and hasn't disappeared) attests without hesitation that he was nothing but an eccentric but kindly middle aged man. Certainly not at all the abducting and murdering type. And besides, that argument raises another interesting question:

How could he have pulled it off? Some of the wilder rumors theorize that he drugged everyone in the hotel, then murdered and disposed of the bodies the night before running on the lam, or even perhaps killing himself. But the latter is quite preposterous considering that Mr. Tipton couldn't have accomplished this all by himself, not with that many people in one night, although those who buy this particular theory counter with the possibility that maybe Mr. Tipton had help, perhaps from staff members or even "guests" who were in on it. But even so, it still doesn't make much sense and is highly unlikely.

Mr. Tipton is currently survived by his ex-wife Meredith Tipton, and a son, Wilfred, both currently residing in New York. They were not present the night when the disappearances took place, nor could they be reached for comment.

**Boston Herald – August 10, 1956**

**Tipton Hotel Claims More Victims; Mystery Deepens as Disappearances Remain Unsolved**

The local Tipton Hotel's 25th Anniversary made front page news this July, but not out of celebration. As everyone in the nation well knows, it was this site upon which 513 people all vanished completely without a trace. Originally only close to approaching 500, the hotel seems to be continuing to claim even more victims in the aftermath.

Among them are several detectives and police officers assigned to the case who have been investigating the hotel and have gone missing in the last month. The last place they were seen is the hotel.

Operating on the possible horrifying new theory that maybe there was someone still in the hotel attacking and disposing of new victims, the city decided to step up to the plate and take some drastic measures. A SWAT counter-terrorism operative team made up of about 50 people was sent in to conduct a thorough search on July 20th, ordered to shoot anyone on the premises and not in uniform on sight. They didn't find anybody or anything out of the ordinary, but over half of the team disappeared! As you might expect, there has been no trace found whatsoever of them.

The hotel has since been quarantined and shut off to the general public. Talks of marking the building for demolition as a serious safety hazard have been made, but strong opposition has been met from the Tipton family…

**American Speculator - June 14th, 1957**

**Tipton Hotel and Surrounding Area to Be Quarantined Off Permanently**

Superstition is not a force that has as much of a hold in today's world with our modern day understanding of science and technological advancement. Sure, there are still many uneducated third world countries that have no grasp or knowledge of science and technology and still believe in such silly things as witch doctors, black magic, and voodoo. And there will always be the issue of religion to contend with, which is arguably synonymous with superstition. But even so, we ourselves have evolved relatively past taking stuff like ghosts, spirits, demons, aliens, and the like, seriously, and will continue to do so as science continues to expand. More and more of the unexplained will continue to become explainable by logic and reason as time goes on. Logic and reason must ultimately always prevail. Modern day Americans are, at least, not even a fraction as superstitious as the days of, say, the Salem Witch Trials. Maybe not so much as the people who believe one day Jesus is going to appear and whisk away a selected few of the most faithful in flying saucers, but here I digress.

Then again, have we really evolved beyond that point? One used to have more faith in humanity.

Enter the infamous incident of the Tipton Hotel last year. We finally have an incident that cannot be explained by scientific reason or by any currently existing technology (that we know of). What _did_ cause all those people to disappear that fateful night last year? Where did they go? Will they ever be seen again? It wasn't just inside the hotel, either. More disappearances have continued to occur around the surrounding area. While it's true that people disappear all the time for a myriad of possible reasons, the fact that it's here near the site of the most famous missing person's case in the world to date seems to have sparked paranoia to a hysterical degree.

So much, that Boston, once one of the greatest cities in America, the very site of the Boston Tea Party and the launch of the greatest war in our nation's history for independence, has started to become a mere shadow of her former self. The fact that many important politicians and influential people were present on the night of the disappearances has already turned the nation's economy on its head. Things are far worse for the city of Boston. People have become so frightened that they are moving out in droves. The city's economy is starting to collapse. It has become such an issue that the President of the United States has been forced to intervene and come up with a possible solution.

In order to attempt to put people's minds at ease and abate some of the panic, he has proposed an experiment. To this end, an entire large chunk of the city, the part centered around the hotel for miles around, is going to be permanently blocked off and all businesses and homes in the area are going to be completely abandoned. They are going to tentatively call this the "Ghost Zone." Though talks are still going on about how large the Ghost Zone is actually going to be, the official word will supposedly be given in about a week.

Thought must be given to this unusual extreme solution. Is it really necessary? Are people just letting their fears get the best of them? What if the "disappearances" don't stop? What if people's fear continues to get more and more out of control? What then? Are they going to block the whole city off? Have an entire city in the United States that is completely abandoned and nobody dares set foot inside? What's next after that? Blocking off entire states? The entire US itself? Where will it end? Are we justified in what we are doing if there is no conceivable way to prove these disappearances actually had anything to do with that fateful night? Will the end of the world not be with fire and brimstone, as the religious fanatics so much like to believe, but with us simply destroying ourselves as a product of our own fears?

**Boston Herald – October 21, 1986**

**Child Missing: Infamous Hotel to Blame?**

While the events of exactly 30 years ago have not at all been forgotten by anyone in the world, a dark cloud of remembrance particularly lingers on the locals living in or around the Boston area. The long since closed Tipton Hotel and the specially christened "Ghost Zone" of Boston, allegedly responsible now for close to 600 unsolved disappearances, have been devoid of any newsworthy activity for several decades now. Until last week, that is.

As everyone well remembers, without any way to determine where the disappearances were coming from and with the disappearances continuing at an alarming rate, the entire section of Boston where the hotel resides was completely evacuated, closed down, and has been blocked off for decades. And even though it has been three decades since, superstition has remained a remarkably powerful force. Nobody will go near it with a ten foot pole. Not even vagrants, it seems. It has been dubbed the "second Bermuda Triangle" of the world. But despite all the negative stigma, it isn't uncommon to have kids trespassing into the Zone, and while police try to keep an eye out, they can't keep watch over the place 24/7, and it was unfortunately one of these times when local boy Timothy Pike vanished without a trace.

Timothy, age 9, had been trespassing with some friends who had dared him to venture into the Ghost Zone, break into the hotel, and return with something as proof that he had gone fairly far in. (This is a very common dare amongst kids around the area) At around 6:15 PM, Timothy entered the Ghost Zone and was never seen again. When 7 o' clock hit, his friends were getting a bit nervous, but they brushed it off with the assumption that he was simply fooling around with them. By 9 o' clock they began to freak out and called the police.

The Ghost Zone area was given a sweep through by a team of officers (maybe not entirely wholeheartedly), some who even went in the hotel itself. Timothy was not found, but Sergeant J.C. Winters was never heard from again.

This latest mystery has prompted a new outbreak of panic and much discussion as to why the hotel even still stands at all. As you may remember, the City Council wanted to tear it down nearly immediately after the initial disappearances, citing it as a safety hazard, but they were met with strong opposition by the Tipton family. A demolition order could have been passed, of course, but rumors abound that certain judges and City Council members have been receiving heavy sums of money to keep it alive. Even now, apparently the Tiptons' stance still stands, as does the hotel. But the question remains, why? The building itself doesn't make any money anymore. Why does the family make such a big issue of continuing to pay the property taxes while it just sits there and rots?

There are a few theories about this, and as you can probably guess, none of them are very good. The Tiptons themselves are very well off, having launched in the last decade the beginning of a new very successful Tipton hotel chain, being helmed by Wilfred Tipton. But the real question that's being tossed around on everyone's lips these days is: what exactly does the Tipton family have to hide?

There is a recent horror film that opened in theatres last weekend called "Nightmare in the Tipton Tower of Terror." It is being directed by newcomer Wesley Graven, and it revolves around a group of teenagers who stay the night in the hotel on a dare. They end up uncovering a conspiracy that Mr. Tipton drugged and killed all the people in the hotel, absorbed their souls as part of some satanic ritual, and his spirit is still roaming the area, killing off the teenagers who take part in the dare. A bit out there and farfetched, but one has to ask; by how much? After all, it just doesn't make any sense. Why do we have to have a part of our city permanently blocked off while that monstrosity stands like a behemoth, glaring over the city day after day just because one family who has a gazillion dollars to spare holds tightly onto it for no reason at all like they've got something to hide?

Unfortunately, no attempt to ever investigate the Tipton family and prove foul play has been successful. However...

**Time Magazine – June 8, 2018**

**Infamous Hotel to Finally Be Torn Down; Ghost Zone to Be Opened Up**

The infamous Boston Tipton Hotel made headlines 62 years ago when it became linked to the most bizarre phenomenon of the century. Close to 700 people as of present have vanished without a trace, the hotel being cited as the blame. But there haven't been any notable disappearances for more than 20 years now. For a while, there had been a fairly steady stream of anywhere from five to fifteen disappearances in Boston near or around the Ghost Zone area per decade, many of them teenagers, but most of them could be given plausible explanations that had nothing to do with the hotel, aliens, ghosts, or vampires. Several times there were petitions to enlarge the area of the Ghost Zone, but there wasn't ever enough conclusive evidence to prove that the hotel was truly to blame. But somewhere around 1997, the "disappearance rate" completely stopped.

Notably, this isn't the first time the hotel has gone through a "dry spell." The disappearances had been similarly consistent following the original fated night back in 1956 up until 1962 when there was a dry spell until 1986 when local boy Timothy Pike made headlines as the first "victim" in several decades followed by the disappearance of police sergeant J.C. Winters, who was heading up the search for him. It was then that the disappearances seemed to start up again in full force, until about 1997.

Most people have dismissed the post-disappearances as unrelated coincidences, which is likely possible. The event itself happened so long ago that there are many skeptics of the "Tipton Curse" nowadays.

A number of people have recently volunteered in the last few years to "test" it, and last year alone, the hotel has had several various groups of such people staying for extended periods of time with no disappearances or unusual phenomenon.

The Tipton Hotel chain has even grown tired of holding onto it, it seems. The Tiptons, who were once so adamant for unknown reasons about holding onto it, now apparently view it as more of a liability, especially in light of the recent stock market crash which currently has much of the business world turned on its head. The Ghost Zone is presently slated to be opened in three months, the hotel demolished, and, get this, a new nightclub is to be put in its place.

Zachary Martin, an entrepreneur who runs a very successful nationwide chain of themed nightclubs, seized upon the opportunity to buy the "ghost town of Boston" property dirt cheap.

It is there that he plans to unveil his latest and hottest nightclub yet, inspired by the hotel and the legends surrounding it. Zack has made a very successful living based off his unusual "themed" nightclubs. While a club decked out very realistically like a "pirate ship," for example, might seem rather an odd look for a nightclub and more like something one would find geared towards kids, it's anything but. Each location has its own unique theme and look, and even the staff goes as far as to dress and act accordingly with the theme, even going as far as to adopt accents.

Says Zack: "I think there is a part of all of us deep down inside that remembers the imagination and wonder of what it was like to be a kid, even though we are not anymore, and I wanted to kind of capture that feeling of imagination in my clubs. People come to dance, hook up, get drunk, party, mosh... you name it. And I go out of my way to make it a little bit more fun."

Not that all his themes are innocent. Many will remember the very controversial club he opened in Houston, Texas, based off the theme of "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas".

"It was all meant as a joke." Zack says. "We decked the place out like a brothel and dressed everyone up like hookers. Then I showed up dressed like Marvin Zindler on our opening night and pretended to try to chase everyone out; then the whole place broke out into a musical number. Looking back, I think I was drunk when I came up with the concept, but it ended up becoming one of our most successful clubs."

To say that he is an ambitious man is an understatement. But it is his current theme that really takes the cake.

"I think a haunted hotel idea would be cool. I have always thought about opening a Tipton Hotel themed club, since it is such an integral part of our nation's history and pop culture. But nowhere else just felt right."

He thinks the best way to do it would be to open it right on top of the current Tipton Hotel itself.

"When the land went on the market, I jumped for it. I got it dirt cheap. Nobody else wanted to touch it with a ten foot pole. What I really wanted to do was open it right inside the hotel, but it was specifically outlined in the contract that it had to be torn down and demolished. It's disappointing, because it's such a remarkable piece of history, but despite the fact that there has been no weird activity around the area for years, I guess the superstition of the place still has a strong hold on people's memories."

He's right. In fact, it's iffy on if he will get much business at all. Even if there hasn't been any unusual activity for a long time, one must remember that there has also been no one living in the ghost town for a very long time. And despite a higher degree of skepticism in this day and age, it's easy to say one doesn't believe, but even so, with such a strong negative stigma, are most people really going to be ready to put their money where their mouth is? Many cite him as insane for even considering such a risky business venture. When questioned about his reasoning for the project, he responded:

"Well, first of all, the disappearances: Did something really horrible happen here? Yes. Do I think the people all just vanished into thin air? No, I don't. I think there is a perfectly logical explanation for what occurred that night. A bizarre one, no doubt, but logical. I do not believe it was ghosts or malevolent spirits or aliens or demons anything like that. Do I have my own theories? I do, but I think I'll keep them to myself. The point is, however it may have happened, it's past history now. And I think a lot more of the disappearances over the years could be easily explained as unrelated instances. For example, the Timothy Pike case that made headlines a few decades ago: They looked for him, but how hard? Did they _really _go all out and search for him, with all the proper procedures? I don't think they did. I think they were too chicken-shit to do anything remotely resembling a totally thorough by-the-book search. Who's to say we won't find Timothy's corpse ourselves when we start renovating the area? Or any of the other missing people? There are a lot of things that can occur in an area that has been abandoned for as long as it has. Maybe he was even kidnapped? Who's to say that there haven't been homeless people, criminals, or vagrants squatting in the area throughout the last several decades? If I were a criminal or someone on the run from the law, it would be the perfect hiding spot!"

Heavy superstition and possible hazards involved with the project don't deter him, though.

"I'm doing this project for myself. The reason I do the things that I do all boils down to one simple thing: I want to make my mark on the world. It isn't just about big money, fancy cars, or the women, even though all those things are nice touches. I want to do things that nobody has ever done or dreamed of doing. This is going to be my crowning achievement. I'm taking something very controversial and taboo, giving it the biggest middle finger I can, and creating a business off it. I don't know if it will really make any money, get any customers, or if I'll even be able to find much of a staff for that matter, but I really don't care. This is something I'm doing just for me, just to prove that I can, and if you want to come on down and join the party, then come on! I think that after we renovate the area and some time passes, though, and people see that nothing strange or weird is happening, we will finally be able to break the superstition that has held the city of Boston in such a tight grasp for so long."

Perhaps, but only time will tell if his ambition comes to bear any fruit. But it turns out he isn't the only one with big ambitions. Two paranormal researchers, Maddie Fitzpatrick and Trevor Bates, under funding from NYU, plan to conduct one final exploration of the premises before the legendary hotel is finally demolished.

Said Maddie: "This is the experience of a lifetime. While previous investigations surrounding the hotel and the disappearances have been conducted only by the police, FBI, SWAT, and a few small groups of people staying for short periods of time, nobody has yet tried to conduct a legitimate, well-funded, thorough investigation of the area from a paranormal perspective."

Using the latest in paranormal research high tech equipment, they are taking a previously untried approach to figuring out what happened.

"The supernatural is one of the most common theories thrown around since the disappearances started. But I think nobody has tried to do a legitimate investigation from the supernatural perspective because no matter how much people might suspect on the inside there might be truth to a supernatural explanation, they just don't want to admit it. That's where we come in. It's something we've wanted to do for a very long time. We've just never been able to get proper funding for it until now. A project like this deserves the very best we have to offer, and all of our equipment is state of the art. But in light of recent events and the upcoming destruction of the hotel, we were finally able to get some decent backing through NYU and Hadden Industries."

Hadden Industries, for those not in the know, is a fairly young technology company that has recently opened an experimental branch dedicated entirely toward developing experimental equipment for in-depth paranormal research.

Not all of their equipment Maddie and Trevor will be using will be state of the art, though.

"We're also going to be making use of the Ouija board. We believe that if anything supernatural did happen at the hotel, or there are still spirits lingering around this place, we may be able to get a more direct perspective from sources beyond this world who may have witnessed what happened."

While paranormal research has only recently started coming to be considered anything even remotely resembling an actual science, any remaining large quantities of skepticism seem to be a moot point. Even the City Council seems to be curious enough about the outcome that they've ordered the demolition of the hotel to be set back a bit in order to give the would-be ghost hunters more time.

Only time will tell if anything fruitful will come out of it, though, or if the remodeling will go as planned and the bizarre events surrounding the area simply fade into history with nary a whimper.

Let's just pray that the disappearances truly are over for good.

**New York – June 9, 2018**

**Cell Phone of Dr. Cody Martin: Voicemail**

_"If you're there, please pick up!_

_Damn it, don't you ever turn this thing on?_

_Yeah, I know what you're thinking!_

_'That Zack. Only ever calls when he needs a favor or if something is wrong.'_

_Well, something is wrong. Very wrong._

_Look, I know this sounds really strange, but I need you to drop everything and come here right away! I don't think we've got much time left!_

_There were two others with me… Maddie Fitzpatrick and Trevor Bates. Ghost hunters! You've seen them on the news, right? I think they are already gone. I've locked myself in my trailer, but I don't think I have much time left either, so I have to talk quickly._

_We thought that there might be a way to stop it, but it's too late for me now. I need you to pick up where we left off. You were always the scientifically minded one, maybe you could do a better job than we did. That's why I'm calling you. I think we just made things far worse. But listen, you have to be really caref…_

_*almost faint unidentifiable noise*_

_Oh, God... It's here..._

_I can hear it..._

_It's right outside my door..._

_I can hear it whispering my name... it knows my name!_

_But I don't think it can..._

_OH NO… I FORGOT TH…_

_*sound of a door opening; a very strange noise fills the room which sounds like thousands of (?whispering voices?) right before a loud (?scratching?) noise and the line going dead*_


	2. The Message

**Chapter 1**

**The Message**

25 year old Dr. Cody Martin sat unmoving behind the desk in his office in New York City, staring at his cell phone with a look that was a mixture of perplexity and restrained fear. From outside came the sounds of cars whizzing by and the general sorts of sounds you typically hear in the midst of the big city such as honking, the occasional police siren, and the whole cacophony of noises that the big city is known for. Everything on the outside was going about its average routine with nothing out of the ordinary. Not in _here_, though. Everything average about Cody's day was now entirely disrupted. Maybe not _for sure_, but just enough to warrant the unwanted feelings of worry and indecisive anger that were certain to put a negative tone to the rest of the day. _If._

Cody was still staring at his phone, frowning. He had replayed the message about ten times so far, and tried to call Zack's cell even more, but Zack's phone always went straight to voicemail.

Cody opened up the texting screen and began typing out a message for Zack:

_Zack, what the hell, man? April Fools was months ago. I'm not going to fall for it this time! Give me a call back. Or pick up your phone._

_-Cody_

He pressed _send_ and sat back for a while, still staring at his phone with a faraway look in his eyes.

Cody wasn't sure what to think.

If Zack was serious...

But on the other hand, it was a known given that Zack loved to play pranks. It was one of his defining characteristics. There were two different kinds of people in the world, according to Cody's philosophy: those who grew from kids to adults, and kids who grew into bigger bodies and remained kids relatively all their lives. Zack was one of the latter.

But was this a prank? Cody, who had always been more of a History and Discovery Channel kid, had seen all the documentaries about the Tipton Hotel growing up. The subject had heavily fascinated him, and he had read up on it from about as many books as he was able to get his hands on.

Cody couldn't say for sure what his opinion on the subject ultimately was. He was a very open minded person who saw the world as a fascinating phenomenon filled with all sorts of unknown mysteries and wonders. He liked to believe that everything in existence had a reason for working the way it did. He was also the type of person who liked to consider every single possibility rather than closing his mind off to just one.

_Everything has a certain way of working, even if we humans haven't figured everything out yet. It's possible we were never meant to._

There was a certain way of working behind the disappearances, too. There had to be. Was there a normal, reasonable explanation behind what had happened? It was possible. Was there an unusual, possibly otherworldly, bizarre explanation for what had happened? That was possible too.

If it were the latter...

Mr. Tipton's eccentricity was definitely no secret. For this reason, he was often accused of being the most likely suspect behind everything. Of course, since he disappeared too, he couldn't be reached for questioning.

But to Cody, who liked to think of everything in a logical, yet open minded manner, had always had a different possible theory.

The media had been all over the Tipton case for decades, and everybody in the nation ate it up. Everybody was caught up in the "fad" speculating on what might have possibly happened, and the supernatural was definitely among these speculations.

But how many of these people _really _believed in a supernatural possibility? Cody didn't think very many. Sure, nobody in the nation wanted to even go slightly near the Ghost Zone of Boston, but if you looked at the pattern of the number of the materials that were published on the incident, the mainstream publications were always the ones that investigated the incident from the angle of a possible conspiracy. Either Mr. Tipton was a devil worshipper who abducted (_all 400+ people?)_ as part of some Satanic ritual, or maybe it was perpetrated by the US government for reasons unknown and then covered up, or maybe it was even a secret plot by Al-Qaeda...

You could find any of these books in the History section or on display in the lobby of any bookstore. But the moment you put out a book suggesting aliens, ghosts, parallel dimensions, time warps, and other such possibilities, you pretty much got labeled as a crackpot and relegated to the Speculation section of the bookstore along with the other goofballs who believe the government is being controlled by aliens, the Matrix is real, or that the world is going to end in 1999/2001/2012/2016.

In Cody's opinion, though, it was a dangerous thing to just immediately regard any possible otherworldly speculation pertaining to the incident as total bunk. For if there _had _been something unusual going on, then how would one expect to stop it if they didn't even want to consider the possibility of something unnatural? Cody had learned from experience in his own personal scientific dabbling that this was very flawed thinking.

He also knew for a fact that the outlandish speculation books sold probably more than the books coming from a conspiracy theory angle.

There were some reports that Mr. Tipton had had a bit of a fascination with the occult. Indeed, it had been known that he had liked to collect books on the subject, but increasingly even more so in the years leading up to the disappearances. It was from this that the speculation about 'devil worship' came from. Cody didn't know about that, but he had his own theories as to the sudden increased fascination.

_What if he knew well in advance that something was wrong, and on its way, and he was trying, like I would have done, to try to find a way to stop it?_

Just like a machine that required mechanical parts to be repaired,

_wouldn't a potentially dangerous supernatural force require some sort of supernatural method to correct it?_

This was all in very wild theory, though, with no evidence to support it. He had thought about publishing a book with his own thoughts on the subject, but he knew better. He might be more open minded than most, but he still held pride in the way people perceived him, and he couldn't bear the shame of becoming known as yet another crackpot speculation author. There was nothing for him to gain by publishing such a book.

_People only want to believe in reason and logic. They don't want to accept a possibility of a more unusual truth beyond their understanding, yet to some extent, their actions would indicate that the fear of such a thing actually does exist within their subconscious._

If it didn't, there would be no such thing as a "Ghost Zone of Boston". That was a really freaking ridiculously extreme measure to take against something that was "certain" to have a "normal, physical explanation".

And as much of a pain in the ass as he could be sometimes, Cody really had to admire Zack for making such a ballsy move although he himself hadn't wanted to admit that he had been a little scared for him.

The one curse to being open minded and considering every possibility is that it tended to turn one into a worry wart.

Cody was, and Zack knew it. And despite the fact that they had not spoken much to each other over the last few years, it wasn't something that was likely to ever change.

If there was something that could go wrong, it weighed heavily on Cody's mind, no matter how much he tried to repress it. Zack had loved to torment him because of it as a kid.

_And even all the way up till college._

Once, when they were ten, Zack had dared him to go into an old abandoned house near their neighborhood, telling him wild stories about it being haunted:

_"They say an old woman lived there once. She lived all by herself and never spoke or talked to anyone. Sometimes late at night people would hear weird noises or screams coming from the house. They said she was a witch. Then one day, she just vanished! Several other people moved in after that, but they all ended up dying of unknown causes. They say that she still wanders the house, cursing anyone who dares to trespass on her territory and devouring their souls!"_

Cody, who had once seen a horror film on TV without his parents' permission, had insisted from that point on that his room was being possessed by monsters, and his parents had had to sprinkle holy water over the walls, bed and furniture before he would sleep in it again.

Zack had made fun of him nonstop after that. Cody had been terrified of the house, too,

_"The spirits of the people she killed can sometimes be heard coming from the walls... begging someone to put them out of their misery!"_

but Cody, who had wanted some sort of vindication and not to be looked upon like a chicken anymore, had reluctantly agreed.

They found a conveniently broken window and snuck in. Zack had been trying to torture him the whole time by telling him more horrific stories of the place, claiming to hear things that weren't there, and yelling out that he saw something, and when Cody turned to look,

_"Ha ha! Gotcha! Man, you're such a chicken!"_

there was, of course, nothing there.

But what had really taken the cake was when Zack had managed to sneak away from Cody, and when Cody turned around and there was nobody there,

_"Zack?! ZACK! WHERE ARE YOU?!"_

he had panicked something fierce.

He had run around all over the house for five minutes, screaming Zack's name, wanting to just run out and leave the place behind, but he couldn't because he was also scared to death for his brother.

Then the banging started. And the voice wailing from the walls...

_"COOOOOODDDDYYYYY... HEEELLLLLPPPP MEEEEEE... I'M TRAPPED IN HERE... THE PAIN... I CAN'T TAKE THE PAIN ANYMORE!"_

Cody would run to where the noise was coming from, but since Zack had already scoped the place out before hand

_that damn "conveniently" already broken window_

he knew the house real well and would run somewhere else and start banging on the walls and wailing.

_"COOOOOOODDDDYYYYY... WE'RE ALL HERE... WEEEE'RRREEE WAAAIITIIIING FOR YOU TO JOOOOOOOIIIIIN US..."_

_"COOOOOODDDDDYYYY... WEEEEEEE'REEEEEE COOOOOMING TO GEEEEET YOOOOOOUUUU..."_

Cody had finally ran out of the house screaming like all the demons of hell were on his tail.

And he had thought they really were.

Cody had been practically hyperventilating when he had gotten back to the house. His parents couldn't get him to calm down. When Zack had walked into the house 15 minutes later, laughing his head off in sheer diabolical glee, he had been grounded for a month. Cody had tried to about half-kill him.

Not much had really changed since that time. The Zack of today still loved a good practical joke just as much as when he was a kid.

_But could this really be just another one of his pranks?_

He had been a little worried when Zack had taken on the project, sure. He had been nervous about it the whole time. And he had done what he usually did nowadays when he got worried about something: threw himself into his work.

It didn't matter that he and Zack rarely spoke anymore. A part of him, just a small part, felt like he wouldn't know what to do if anything actually happened to his brother.

He wouldn't put it past Zack, though, to be aware of how Cody might feel and use the opportunity to screw with him a little.

If that was the case, he was going to pack up, go straight to Boston, and punch Zack square in the face.

But there was something about that phone call, too, that he could not quite put his finger on.

Zack sounded genuinely panicked. But that was to be expected. Zack could practically win an academy award when he was screwing with somebody. But there was something else about the voice, too. Cody wasn't sure what it was. He thought it was probably just his imagination, but...

_something seemed a little off?_

Again, that might add more credence to the possibility of a prank, but something inside Cody wasn't so sure.

Cody suddenly snapped out of his thoughts for a bit when he realized that the Tipton hotel must have a landline. After all, there would be a construction crew there, along with those ghost hunters who were supposed to be staking out the place before it was bulldozed over.

He opened up his laptop and pulled up the website for _ClubZack_.org

_Seriously, brother, could you be any more simplistic?_

The only thing he got when he pulled up the Tipton location website was an 'Under Construction!' page with an oversized photo of a leaning, smiling Zack, a few photos of the area where the construction was taking place, concept art for what the club would look like when finished, and some backstory info on the history of the place that he was already well familiar with.

He closed down the page and looked up the main office number from the main website.

It rang three times before someone picked up and he got an overly enthusiastic:

"Thank you for calling Club Zack! Your number one choice for the _hottest _night on the town! Especially Houston, Texas! This is co-owner Lenny speaking, how may I be of service?"

Lenny was like a mass of infinite energy bundled up into a single human being that had nowhere else to go yet was always screaming to be let out.

He was the kind of guy that when you met him he would practically pump your arm off and then proceed to ramble on and on for hours about everything under the sun. He had Zack's life-of-the-party attitude and some of the obnoxiousness, too, but he was generally a decent, down-to-earth guy.

As a business partner, Zack couldn't have chosen anyone more in tune with his own childish personality.

"Hey, Lenny. It's Cody. I'm trying to reach my brother."

"Codester!" Lenny exclaimed. "Always a pleasure. But Zack's not here. I'd think you would know that, considering he's about the only thing on the news these days..."

"I know that. But I've been trying to reach his cell for the last few days, and he won't answer his phone. Could you get me the number for the Tipton landline?"

"Yeah, sure. Just gimme a minute..." He said.

A few minutes later he came back on and gave Cody the number.

"By the way," Cody said. "You haven't heard from Zack recently, have you? Like in the last few days?"

"Nope. Not in weeks, actually. But that's not unusual. When he starts off on a new project like this, he might not be heard from for a month. He gets really focused. But you probably already know that. Ya know, there was this one time that..."

"Actually, I'm really sorry to cut it short, Lenny, but I have an appointment I need to rush off to. I just had something urgent I needed to tell Zack, and I was really hoping I could catch him before I had to run off. If you hear from him, do me a favor and be sure to tell him to call me immediately."

"Hey, yeah, sure man. Understood. And don't be a stranger! It's been, what, a year, two years since you've been around?"

"Something like that. Talk to you later, Lenny."

"Ciao, man."

And with that Cody hung up.

Cody wasn't sure whether or not Lenny might be in on the joke. It was possible which was why he was being very careful to mask any sense of possible wariness in his voice and why he lied about trying to reach Zack for days rather than just in the last hour.

Cody had been paying close attention to Lenny's voice for any sign that he might be repressing any sort of humor at the situation, but had detected none at all.

Cody dialed the Tipton landline number into his phone. It rang about six times before his brother's voice came on.

_"Hello, and thank you for calling the future site of Club Zack's Haunted Hotel of Horrors! We are still under heavy construction and may not be able to answer the phone at this point of time, but your call is very important to us! Please leave us a message after the tone, and we will get back to you as soon as possible!" *beep*_

Cody didn't leave a message. He hung up the phone, pocketed it, and immediately went to his appointment list. He had made his decision.

_If this is all a game, I'm not playing into it so easily._

He was going to finish up all of his rounds for the day, tend to his appointments, and keep trying the landline. He made a mental note to use a payphone just in case the landline had caller ID and Zack was deliberately not picking up the phone.

If he couldn't reach anyone by the end of the day, he was going to cancel all his appointments for the next day and head off to Boston.


	3. Thoughts On Route

**Chapter 2 **

**Thoughts On Route**

Cody didn't have many appointments that day and finished up roughly around 5:30. Since he was unable to reach anyone even by payphone, he decided to leave the walk-ins to the other doctors and leave early, taking several personal days off. He didn't live very far from his office and was home and packed by 6:30. He decided to not bother taking a shower and was en route to Boston by 7:00 PM.

He decided to take the Limoliner. The Limoliner was a fast travel luxury bus service traveling in between New York and Boston. It was a 28 passenger vehicle with a slew of options designed to make the trip a more enjoyable, productive experience for commuters. The seats were large, reclinable, comfortable, and made of leather. There were aisle or window seats only, no middle, and there were complimentary snacks, newspapers, magazines, satellite TV, and one could even watch a DVD movie if they wished.

For business commuters, there was uninterrupted cell phone reception, seat side outlets, ethernet jacks, unlimited free high speed wireless internet, and even a meeting area in the rear cabin. There were also service attendants to wait on your every beck and call, and the whole thing only cost $95 for a round trip ticket.

It was a personal favorite of Cody's. He had used it previously and really wished he had a good excuse to use it more often. But it wasn't for comfort or leisure that he was using it now, but because it was the fastest and cheapest way of getting to his destination. It would be about midnight when he arrived, and Cody was trying to force himself to take a nap during the trip. He didn't plan on getting any sleep tonight until checking out the Tipton site and verifying the state of things. But try as he might, he was just too wired to sleep.

He kept his eyes closed and tried to clear his mind anyways. Hard to do.

Zack and Cody, born twins, had grown up and been inseparable all the way up till college.

They had lived with their parents in a nice, middle class neighborhood in Lincoln, Massachusetts until their parents had gotten a divorce. Zack had been relatively okay (or so he had pretended), but it had been downright devastating to Cody. Not that their dad didn't still come around every few months when he was on break from touring with his band and hang with him and Zack. But Cody had always been a person of stability and normality. Even as a kid, he saw himself going along the pattern that any normal average American on the TV shows followed: going to school, going to Yale, getting married, living in a nice house with a white picket fence, having a career, having kids… The full blown American dream.

But life, to Cody, seemed a funny and sadistic taskmaster that had a tendency of never giving you quite what you want, instead opting to hold it in front of you before snatching it away in a teasing manner while sending you down a twisted, uneven pathway filled with many pitfalls and detours and generally screwing you over.

As a kid, Cody had wanted to grow up in a normal, complete family. He didn't.

He had also wanted to grow up to be the first doctor/lawyer in space. He was a doctor, but not a lawyer or an astronaut. He was not likely to ever be a lawyer or astronaut.

As a doctor, he had wanted to be a prominent doctor working for a major hospital. Instead, he worked for a small minor emergency clinic.

He had wanted to go to Yale, but he had been nearly exclusively homeschooled after his parents split and that had killed THAT dream.

He had wanted to get married and have kids. He got married, and then got divorced a little over a year later.

He had wanted a house in a nice suburban neighborhood with a white picket fence. He had gotten that one, but Barbara had taken the house when they had split, and he now resided in a one bedroom apartment located in not quite the best part of town. He could afford a much nicer place in a real neighborhood, but since he was living by himself now, he really didn't see the point.

He had wanted to get back with Barbara, but _immediately _after they had split, she had become a revolving door of one new boyfriend after another, and he could scarcely find a space to squeeze himself back in the picture. Even if he tried, she seemed to want nothing else to do with him anymore, anyways.

In an attempt to make her jealous, he had had a few semi-serious girlfriends over the last few years, had slept with most of them too, but in the end none of those relationships had lasted due to the fact that he really just wasn't all _that_ into them, and the one relationship that he really wanted to repair just wasn't happening. And it didn't seem like she was getting jealous even in the slightest. He was starting to get to a point now where he was beginning to feel like he didn't really care much about anything anymore.

He hadn't had a date in months, and he didn't care either. He just couldn't seem to find anyone out there who clicked with him. That was actually, come to think of it, one of the things he _really_ wanted the most, but could just never seem to find.

A soulmate.

He had told himself that he had wanted a wife and kids, but that hadn't been entirely true.

He had married Barbara because they had had similar goals and interests in life, and they had seemed to have had that click that Cody was looking for. Sure, she was the first girl he had ever really dated, and that was in college, but it had been Barbara who had seemed to have that one special thing that he had thought he was looking for, and that was all he had needed.

Unfortunately, the honeymoon in their marriage was over even sooner than the actual honeymoon itself as it soon started turning into a battle of wills over who really wore the pants in the relationship.

She was not an easy person to live with, and maybe he wasn't so much of an easy person himself, but she had been the closest thing to ever finding what it was that he _really _wanted, or thought that he'd wanted, and despite the fact that the marriage had simply continued to deteriorate more and more over the months, he had been reluctant to let go.

He knew that it had really been all for the best in the end. He knew there was no way and no need to try and repair the damage done. He knew it was time to let bygones be bygones.

But the youthful optimism he'd had as a young kid had given way more to a realistic pessimism as he'd grown up. He knew that there was probably no one out who would truly fill the void in his heart and give him what he was looking for. And even if there was, he probably would never run into her anyways.

After his parents had gotten divorced, their mom had taken custody of the kids as the more responsible parent, determined to make sure that they got a proper education.

His mom worked as a cabaret singer, and for a while they lived in a small two bedroom apartment while their mom went around from place to place trying to keep a steady stream of work. One day, life actually threw a bone, and she had been singing in the right place in the right time, had been seen by the right person, and had landed a recording contract, which led to a first album that kinda took off, and then they had hit the road.

When their mother wasn't on tour, they lived in LA. But most of the time they were on the road, and since the demands of such a career didn't allow them to ever be in one place long enough to attend a regular school, they had been homeschooled through the second half of middle school and all of high school.

It had been through an _accredited _course, but not good enough to get into Yale. Or Princeton. Or MIT.

Not going to a regular school had sucked since they were never able to have any regular friends until college, something that probably drove Zack a lot crazier than it did him. Zack was a social butterfly, the type who gravitated towards lots of friends, social interactions, and wild parties. Is it any wonder he turned out doing what he did?

Cody had taken an almost opposite route, repressing more and more into himself and detaching himself socially. Not that his social skills ever truly suffered or went away. He just simply settled somewhere in between an introvert and an extrovert. He could find comfort in solace just as much as hanging around with other people.

Another thing that sucked along with having irregular friends was having no dad. Sure, his dad came around every now and then for a few days when he wasn't working. But his dad also had his own fairly successful band that he traveled the country with, and having two parents who both had similar careers and were almost always on the road meant even _less _time that their dad would be around.

Depression eventually turned into loneliness, loneliness eventually turned into bitterness, and bitterness eventually turned into withdrawal.

The point at which his dad seemed more like a distant memory than a parent (he started coming around less and less as Cody got older) had come as a bit of a surprise to Cody at age 17 when he realized that he no longer had any feelings of caring and remorse for the lot life had dealt him.

He no longer cared that he barely had any friends, or that his dad had broken up with his mother and he barely ever saw him, or that he wasn't going to get into Yale, and that he'd never really had a girlfriend.

He had become a shell that was carelessly drifting off through life, all dreams denied, grasping on to what little he could, losing ground, and losing the will to fight for the things that he really wanted. Nothing ever panned out the way he dreamed, and somewhere along the line, he had just stopped shooting high, taken what he could get, and settled comfortably into it, becoming little more than a pre-programmed automaton going through the motions of life.

Zack, who'd never had any ambitions, dreams, goals, or any sort of serious work ethic as a teen, was the one who grew up to be really successful and get everything he wanted.

Life was like that.

At the time they both went to college was the point they began to officially separate. To Zack, college was a paradise. Friends, girls and parties... it was a chance to reclaim everything he felt he had missed out on while on the road. Cody did no such thing. He loaded himself down with classes till every waking moment was spent doing schoolwork. He thought that maybe this was his one chance to take the lemons life had given him and make lemonade.

He would excel academically, make something out of himself, salvage his life, and become successful. If he could just do that, he was sure he would be able to find the strangely elusive true happiness that he so desired.

He was extremely irritated at Zack's treating college like a social club. But an even deeper part of it was that there really was no up and down with Zack. Stuff rarely phased Zack. Zack just went with the flow and took stuff as it came. When their parents had split, it hadn't seemed to upset Zack nearly as much as it tore Cody apart. Zack had never really given a hoot about his future, or had dreams or anything like that, and after they had graduated college, Zack was the one who ended up with the successful business, money, fame, and all the women.

Nothing ever panned out for Cody. He simply found himself in a slump, making just enough to get by, and finding himself divorced.

He resented Zack. He resented all the fame and success he had acquired. He resented how Zack had always been able to take whatever life threw at him and find happiness out of it. He resented how it seemed things always seemed to come easier for Zack than him. He hated the curveballs that life always seemed to throw him. He hated the mediocrity in his life that he had settled for. He hated the fact that he was not truly as happy as he should be.

He resented Barbara, not only for taking his hopes and dreams and ripping his heart in two, but also because he thought that he still loved her, and he found himself longing for those blissful first few days on their honeymoon and even the rest of the time they had spent together after that.

Even though they had been fighting most of the time they had been married, and the whole thing was generally one of the more stressful periods of his life, he found himself oddly nostalgic for it, and he felt himself pining to go back to those days even though he knew there was no point.

But there was a part of him deep down inside, some small longing in his soul that just absolutely refused to completely let go. Even if she continued to ignore him for the rest of eternity, he thought he might never fully let go.

He wanted to hate her, but instead found himself longing to reach out for her touch, to hold her yet once more, to kiss her, to make love to her.

He felt helpless to ever change his life and his situation, and helpless to ever acquire the happiness that he so desired. And so he began to resent those all around him.

He wondered why he was on his way to Boston tonight. He hate... no, he resented Zack, maybe not as much as Barbara, but he definitely resented him. So why, when Zack had announced the 'Haunted Hotel of Horrors', had he had felt a sudden pang of fear? Why was it that after the phone call it was enough to send him into such a state of restrained panic?

He had tried to deny it, tried to repress it, tried to pretend like it wasn't really there nor really mattered, but it did.

He realized that, just like Barbara, he had a longing to see his brother again, too. Just to be able to hang out and talk again. They hadn't talked, _really_ talked to each other in a long time. Cody kinda resented _that_, too.

Was the all mighty, oh-so-successful Zack now so important that he forgot the existence of his own brother? Cody knew that it had been both ways, that they had both neglected to keep in touch with each other, but with Cody, it made him feel even more unimportant. And that was one of the main reasons why Cody had never been the one to make a first move and pick up the phone.

If Cody were to pick up the phone first, then that would give him no personal validation of importance whatsoever. He began to realize that maybe he didn't hate Zack and Barbara so much for them being the way they were so much as the fact that he felt worthless in their eyes.

_And not just them. But in everybody's eyes._

He felt like they were the only people capable of giving him the validation that he needed, the necessity of being shown that he mattered to other human beings.

Mom and dad didn't count. They were his parents, by natural law, your parents were supposed to love you. Okay, maybe that wasn't _entirely _true, as he knew full well that not all families turned out that simple. But he knew for a fact that his loved and cared about him.

_But they don't count. I don't know why, but they just don't!_

He tugged at his wedding ring. The one that to this day that he had seldom taken off even after his divorce, unless he were on a date. Hard to get a woman into bed if it looked like you were still pining an awful lot for your ex-wife.

_But sex didn't bring me much happiness either._

But he still needed that validation. He still needed that proof that he still had value in the world. He wondered, if he were to die today, would anyone really miss him?

Would Barbara cry at his funeral? _Would she even bother to show up?_

Would Zack cry at his funeral? _Would HE even bother to show up?_

Would anyone? The bulk of the funeral would probably consist of people he worked with. (And mom and dad.) He didn't really tend to have much of a social life outside of work.

_Pathetic. I'm so pathetic._

He tugged at his ring, slipping it back and forth across his finger.

_Zack._

Heartless jerk.

_Barbara._

Stone cold bitch.

Why was he even on his way to Boston? He should just turn right around and go back home. He would probably show up just to find Zack standing there laughing at him. He would be in a state of sheer glee, mocking him for not only falling for his joke, but also for acting like he had been so concerned.

If that was going to happen, he was going to punch Zack in the face. Maybe he wouldn't even stop. He would get Zack on the ground, and keep punching, and punching, ignoring his brother's cries, ignoring the bruises, the blood, and then...

"Is everything to your liking, sir?" The voice startled Cody and brought him out of his little trance that he hadn't even realized he'd been in.

He glanced up at the man standing next to his seat, at a brief loss of words. He fumbled around a bit with something to say so he wouldn't sit there making an ass out of himself.

"I... uh... I'm good, thanks."

The man standing before him, an attendant, was a slightly less than average height African American man who looked about in his 40s. His name tag said 'M. Moseby'.

"If you ask me, you look rather out of it. You've been staring at your finger nonstop. Are you sure you don't at least want some water?"

He started to say no, that he was just fine, but he changed his mind mid-sentence and decided that he _was _thirsty and a water would be good.

Moseby brought it for him, and Cody sipped it at first, then gulped it down rapidly, savoring the coolness in his throat, and it was then that he realized that he hadn't hardly eaten or drank anything all day. Worrying had negated most of his appetite.

"Would you care for anything to eat, sir?" Cody, now with the realization that his appetite had returned, and indeed, had been there for quite some time, responded 'yes, please'. A few minutes later he was wolfing down his order with ravenous fervor.

"You know..." Moseby, who Cody hadn't realized was still standing there after bringing him his order, said: "If there was one thing my mamma always tried to teach me that has proven true to this day, it's that most of the things that we worry about never come true."

Cody stopped eating, his fork halfway brought up to his mouth, and turned to look at the attendant.

"Excuse me?" Cody asked, a bit surprised at the sudden random statement.

"I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to bust into your personal business. You just had the look of something weighing heavily on your mind. It's a look I've seen on myself far too often."

"Well, it is my business, and I really don't want to talk about it!" Cody said, perhaps a little more rudely then he meant to, and instantly regretted it.

"Please accept my sincere apologies, sir. I was out of place."

Cody wanted to say it was no problem, even apologize for his rude response, but stopped, and then found his mouth uttering the words:

"Do you really think it's just that simple? That you can just stop worrying, even when everything your whole life has constantly collapsed around you? Most of the things I worry about come true."

"Ah, but do they really?" Moseby said. "Or have you simply convinced yourself that they do, and constantly resign yourself to a measure of reality that lives up to your expectations?"

This made Cody think for a second.

"It's not that simple." Cody started. "For example, when I was a kid, I worried my parents were going to get a divorce. It happened. I worried that I would never have any friends. It happened. I wanted to go to Yale. I didn't make the cut because I was homeschooled all my life. I worried that my own marriage might end in divorce just like my parents. It did. I worried that I would never meet any the goals and dreams I set for myself in life. I didn't. So please excuse me if I don't readily agree with your personal optimistic outtake on life."

Moseby waited patiently until Cody had finished, and then responded.

"You sound as if might have put too much pressure on yourself. Parental breakup is a hard thing to deal with; trust me, I know exactly what that feels like; and it sounds like you've been trying to put the pieces back together by always shooting for the moon. And when things didn't turn out as you planned, you got discouraged and resigned under the pressure."

Cody looked at the man perplexedly. He started to wonder exactly how he had gotten into this conversation all of a sudden and where this was all coming from.

Just who the heck was this guy, and why were they suddenly having this philosophical diatribe?

"What are you? Some kind of psychiatrist?" Cody asked.

Moseby chuckled.

"No, no. Actually, the things you said reminded me a lot of myself some time ago."

_The things I said? I haven't said much at all. Who is this guy and how did I get into this? I just want to be left alone while on this trip. I don't want to be having this kind of conversation with someone else._

"If you don't mind me asking, what is the nature of your trip?" Moseby asked.

Cody sighed. "I'm going to see my brother."

_Now why the hell did I just say that? I have no desire whatsoever to continue this conversation! Why did I just open a door for it to continue? I want this guy to go away and leave me alone. And stop trying to make me feel better with foolish optimism that doesn't work!_

But this, too, was a lie to himself.

_Fool. Deep down inside, you WANT to talk about these things! You are tired of keeping them bottled up inside of you for so long! You NEED to talk to someone about them! They will destroy you if you don't!_

Destroy him? He wasn't destroying himself. He just simply refused to believe in a reality that didn't exist. He refused to give himself false hope. For anything.

"Your brother, eh?" Moseby said.

"I'm not sure if he's even going to be there."

_You fool. Stop it now! Stop encouraging him! End this conversation right now!_

"Your brother, he's successful, I take it?"

Cody looked at him again with a look of perplexity.

_Just who the heck IS this guy?_

"Yes. Yes he is."

"So is mine."

"You have a successful brother, too?" Cody asked.

"Oh, yes. Mom used to call him 'King Midas'. It seemed that everything he ever touched in life turned to gold. Still does. And as for me, well..."

Moseby smiled.

"But it doesn't bother you?" Cody asked him.

"Oh, it used to! Believe me, it used to absolutely tear me apart. I used to be strongly bitter towards him. I was always be striving to be perfect in everything I did, always trying to measure up to him and becoming more and more frustrated in the process. It's not like my work ethic went unrewarded. I even became a manager of several different places.

But you know what? None of it ever fulfilled me. I never once stopped to be grateful for the things I had. Instead, I was always worried about all the things that I didn't have.

It seemed like my brother was born with a natural gift. Everything just felt like it came easier for him. For me, I had to keep working really hard for everything I got, and even harder to keep it. It felt like I was always coming up short and measuring up to only second best.

But one day I stopped and realized that I just didn't enjoy life anymore. I was not doing any of the things I was doing because I felt like they were best for me. I was doing them simply because I was feeling inadequate about myself and had turned my entire life into one long unattainable race to assert myself."

Cody's stomach lurched at this. The man's words resonated true with his own situation. But he tried to push this out of his head and ignore it.

The man continued: "I had to stop and reassess myself and what made me happiest in life. And I came to realize that what always made me the happiest was not really success or money, although I thought those things would make me happy, it was the people that I served on a regular basis.

I really enjoyed serving the customers, talking with them, learning more about them, finding out where they came from and where they were going. I enjoyed giving my customers the best possible experience that I could give them. But I also came to realize that I had been so caught up in trying to measure up to my brother that I had not been serving my customers in the best possible way, but I was actually using them as a substitute.

If a customer ever complained about anything, I took it far too personally. All I could see was my brother laughing at me, in my mind's eye, telling me that I had failed once again and would always only be second best. I was an absolute tyrant to the staff. I took out all my frustrations on them. I eventually decided that I had to stop living this way. So I called it quits."

"So that's how you ended up here?"

"More or less. I'm still not closed off the idea of managing again someday, but I needed to take a very long break from it for a while. Reassess myself. Live a life of nothing more than serving people and coming back to myself. Not running anything. I still do kind of want to be a manger again someday. Maybe managing a hotel or even a cruise ship, it's always been kind of a personal dream of mine. But not so I can measure up to anyone else. When the time comes, I want to do it just for me."

"Well..." Cody started, "Maybe that's what's worked for you, but it won't work for me. I can't just decide I want to be happy and have everything suddenly turn around and fall into place."

"No, it won't." Moseby said. "However, my point was, consider maybe approaching life in a different way."

"And what way would that be?"

"That is entirely up to you. It's different for each person. But the point is, stop trying to live up to your brother or the expectations of others. Decide what you want, what you _really _want, take all the pressure off of yourself, and just go for that one thing only. Shut off all the rest of the voices in the world that tell you that you need to be this or that, and just do what you feel in your heart you need to do."

Cody wanted to argue again, suddenly wanted to shout out that that philosophy may be good and all, but none of it mattered at this point, because for all he knew, his brother was actually dead, and at this point, a strong, gripping fear came upon Cody,

_Or was it always there?_

and he tried to push it back down.

Cody was staring down at his plate like it was the most interesting thing on the planet since the Mona Lisa.

"I'll think about it, thanks."

He intended to disregard it.

_Do you?_

But he was getting tired of talking about all of this; he really just wanted the man to leave now.

"Be sure you do. Trust me. Now, I seem to have taken up quite a bit of your time, for which I apologize. Do enjoy the rest of your trip!"

Cody tried to mutter thanks, but nothing really came out. The man left and went about his normal duties again tending to other passengers.

_Just what the heck was that?_

Of all the timing to go through a conversation like this, really. But for all the man's advice, he couldn't really help him.

_Take all the pressure off? It's just not that simple. It's not like my circumstances would suddenly change, or I'd suddenly find myself actually amounting to much of anything._

_It's not like anyone would suddenly notice my existence anyways._ _And besides! If the man knew the full circumstances of my situation, that my brother might actually be... be... he might have not spouted such optimism._

He wanted to believe the man's words. He so wanted to believe that there could be hope for his life and situation, but at the same time, he didn't want to fall into the trap of believing and risking nothing ever changing. The disappointment, he felt, might completely destroy him.

But, now was not really the proper time to be thinking of these things. Now, he needed to focus his thoughts to the problem at hand.

After he ascertained the situation and proved whether or not Zack was actually missing or present, then he might think upon these things a bit more.

Actually, he came to a conclusion in his heart that if Zack _did_ turn out to be alright, then he would think upon them more seriously.

He finished his meal, Moseby came by and took the dirty dishes, and then Cody laid back and, until the end of the trip, slumbered the sleep of the dead...


	4. Nightmare?

**Chapter 3**

**Nightmare?**

In the nightmare, he was walking through a tunnel. Where it began and where it ended, he did not know. How he got there, he did not know. All he knew was that he had been walking for some time. The hotel was up ahead. He knew that he wanted to turn around and run away. But he also knew that he couldn't. Something pressed upon him to keep moving forward.

He could see the hotel even though he was still in the tunnel. Dreams were like that. Sometimes, the scenes in your dreams could be fragmented, two separate things overlapping each other at the exact same time. You could be doing or seeing two different things at once whether or not you were actually there and taking part in one or both yourself, and sometimes parts of it could either be in first or third person or both.

In this case, Cody was seeing things through his normal first person perspective, but he could also see the hotel, as if he were having an out of body experience, floating several yards above ground and looking straight at it.

Things were different about the hotel in this dream than in reality. In real life, he knew the hotel was supposed to be smack dab in the middle of the city. But in the dream version, the city was not around it. Cody could see the city, but for miles around, the hotel was surrounded by what appeared to be an immense dark forest. Not a normal kind of forest, but something straight out of a horror film, with withered, gnarled trees, and a feeling of thick, intense darkness permeating it.

Cody could see past the forest that the city _was _actually there. There was a certain point where Cody saw that the trees stopped and the city began with everything beyond carrying on as normal, the people outside seemingly unaware of the strange aberration right in the middle of where they lived. Cody suddenly guessed that the trees must only be present in the area of the where the Ghost Zone was in the city of Boston. He had the strangest feeling this was significant, though he couldn't understand why.

The sky above was not normal. It was blackish red with thick clouds that all seemed to bend in a swirl around the hotel, as if the hotel were the center of this whole dark, twisted fantasy. Lightning flashed, but it was not normal lightning. It was greenish, giving it an otherworldly, ethereal feel about it.

Cody also thought that he could hear a voice coming from the hotel

_"COOOOOODDDDDDYYYYYY!"_

but of that, he couldn't be entirely certain.

It was a just a dream after all, and it still had to a great extent that strange, hazy quality that made it hard to tell whether it was really happening or not.

Onward Cody walked through the tunnel. He knew

_felt_

he was getting closer to the hotel. Almost there.

There were railroad tracks were on the ground, at his feet. Why there were railroad tracks, he did not know. He was in a subway tunnel, he guessed. Why was he here, and how did this lead to the hotel?

The darkness was thick. Indeed, it seemed like it was much thicker here than it should have been under normal circumstances, yet for some strange reason, Cody could see very clearly. He wasn't sure how long he had been walking, only that he had the sense that he'd been walking for some time.

At some point during his trek, he looked down at the ground and noticed a piece of paper lying at his feet. He reached down and picked it up. It was a clipping of a newspaper article.

Cody's stomach lurched when he saw what was on the page. There were recent photos of him and Zack, along with the headline:

_'Zack and Cody Martin, 25, disappear under unknown circumstances.'_

Cody flipped the paper around. There was another headline on the back:

_'Armageddon beginning? Mass unexplained disappearances sweep the entire nation.'_

He dropped the paper.

Cody put his hands over his eyes.

_"This is just a dream. Wake up. This is just a dream. Wake up! None of this is real. It's just an illusion. Wake up!"_

As a kid, he'd had nightmares so frequently that he'd trained himself to be able to snap himself out of them when he needed too.

Whenever something would happen that he felt threatened or frightened by, whether in real life or a dream (since in a dream you usually don't know you're dreaming), he would put his hands over his eyes and repeat the mantra:

_"This is just a dream. This is just a dream. Wake up. This is just a dream. Just a dream. Wake up now!"_

In the case of real life, he couldn't wake up, but that was okay, that was not the point. The point was to subconsciously train himself so that in the midst of a terrifying dream-like state he would be able to recognize it for what it was and mentally extract himself from the situation. Nine times out of ten he was actually able to wake himself up. There were, of course, those annoying dreams within dreams where you thought you were awake, but the nightmare would start all over again.

One such dream occurred when Cody was 10, and he and Zack had watched a horror film from the 80's with Donald Sutherland called 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers.' It was about aliens that come to Earth disguised as flowers, and while people slept, vines would come out and attach themselves to people and create replicas of their bodies, and the people being cloned would crumble and wither away and be disposed of the next morning.

The aliens would then take the places of the original people and live their lives, and their friends and family were none the wiser until it was too late and nearly everyone had been turned. By the time the remaining human characters had managed to figure out that something was hugely amiss, most of the human race had already become 'pod people'.

So, of course, Cody had had the most horrendous time falling asleep the night after watching the film, and, of course, he had dreamed that all his family and friends had turned into pod people. His mantra had not worked as expected. _Twice _he 'woke up' within his dream only to have the whole thing start all over again. Meanwhile, while he had been sleeping, Zack had been carefully wrapping his arm with one of mom's houseplants. There was this particular noise the pods made while assimilating people, something kind of like a _'WHOAOH WHAOAH WHOAH' _noise. So when Cody actually woke up, he had felt something weird, looked down, seen the plant around his arm, heard a _'WHOAH WHAOA WHAOA'_ sound, and started screaming bloody murder at the top of his lungs. Zack had been grounded. But in Zack's mind, it had been totally worth it.

There was another thing about the movie that terrified him; the shrill, high pitched scream the aliens would make when they identified someone who was still human before the others in the area would give chase and capture the poor soul to be assimilated. Several days later, Cody had come home while their parents were out, and Zack had been standing stone still in the kitchen with his back turned to him. Cody had scarcely let out a "Hey, Zack" before Zack slowly turned around with a demonic gleam in his eye, pointed his finger at Cody, and started yelling in a shrill, high pitched scream.

Cody should have known better. He really should have. But he freaked out anyways. Since it was some time before their parents actually got home, Zack simply followed him around the house, finger pointed, screaming nonstop. Cody kept running away, begging and pleading Zack to stop, even to the point of weeping. Zack didn't let up. Zack had gotten grounded again, but again, in his mind, it had all been totally worth it.

If there was one thing that annoyed Cody the most about his childhood, it was his inexplicable knack of allowing himself to get traumatized by horror films. (And his fear of the dark.) Eventually, he had managed to grow out of it by the time he was 14, and he'd had an unexpected opportunity to exact his revenge.

Zack had snuck a DVD in the house of a horror flick called 'Zombie Mom' for them to watch when their mom was going be gone for the whole evening. Cody knew that Zack was hoping to use it to get to him again, but thankfully, by that age, Cody's too-logical, rational reasoning mind had kicked in, and he no longer found that sort of schlock disturbing in the slightest. But he indulged Zack anyways, even pretending like he didn't want to watch it because he might be too afraid. He had been fully expecting Zack to indulge himself later on in one of his stupid scare pranks, and, relishing the fact that he was going to be strong and not fall for it, Cody was planning on completely ruining Zack's time.

But that wasn't quite exactly what happened. Oh, Cody wasn't scared in the slightest, to be sure, but Zack...

Zack had been freaked out something fierce. Oh, sweet irony! Suddenly the tables were turned. It hadn't been Zack's intention to be scared by the film so badly himself. He had tried to hide it, but Cody had caught on nearly immediately. And once Cody had figured out exactly the kind of power he now held in his hands, he did exact his vengeance...

He knew he had stumbled onto something good when he covered his face with green face paint he bought at a costume shop, put his hair up in curlers (that had been tricky), and put on their mom's bathrobe. You would have THOUGHT that Zack, the one who was used to being the one messing with people and pulling the strings, would not have acted so illogically, but this time it had been Cody chasing him around their place. With a meat cleaver. Zack had actually been terrified out of his mind for once.

Good times, good times.

If this whole situation was Zack was trying to pull something on him yet again, he was going to slug him. Hard. He wasn't even going to give him the chance to make some sort of snappy remark. If he got to the Tipton, and Zack was standing there laughing at him, he was not going to say anything. He was going to simply walk up to him and let him have it. No words. No mercy.

Back to the issue at hand, though, as Cody stood there repeating his childhood mantra… The fact that Cody hadn't had a real nightmare in ages didn't deter him now. The old habit remained with him. The point at which he saw the newspaper clipping and had the slightest inkling as to what was going on, he dropped it, reached his hands up to cover his eyes, and started speaking the mantra, just as if he had suddenly gone back in time and reverted back to twelve again.

"It's just a dream. It isn't real. Wake up. It's just a dream! You're not really here. Wake up!"

"This isn't a dream."

Cody yelped and turned to where the voice had come from to the right of him. There was a kid there. Black hair. Piercing green eyes. Intense expression.

Cody was still sure this was a dream. But why hadn't he waken up yet? Cody caught his breath and responded.

"Yes, it is! This is not real! You're not real!"

"This is an illusion conjured up by both our minds. It's the only way I could talk to you! You must not come to the hotel. It's too late for your brother. Let everyone get scared again, and let the government decide to keep the area closed off forever! Just stay away from here at all costs. No one else like you or your brother must disappear."

"If you're real, which I don't believe you are, why me and Zack? What's so special about me and Zack?"

"You forgot." the kid said.

"Forgot what? What did I forget?"

"You pushed it out of your memory, just like all the others like you do. Or rather, you can't remember because you refuse to see the truth around you."

"What truth? I'm always open to the truth. I'm not as closed minded like a lot of people are."

"The imagination is slanted and taints the truth. He says that to us sometimes. You forgot because you have regressed into a reality that is only an illusion of the universe, like most others. But you and your brother are not like most others."

"And what is it about us that makes us different?"

"You must go home. If you come to the hotel, the world will end."

"Answer my freaking question! I don't believe any of this! You are just a dream!" Cody yelled at the not-real boy.

"It got your brother. It found out about you. It wants the set."

"YOU'RE JUST A FRICKING DREAM!" Cody yelled.

"My name is Timothy Pike. I was one. Mr. Tipton was one. If you come here now, you will be the last. This cannot happen at any cost."

"One WHAT? What would I be the last of? You're not making any sense!"

The boy got a terrified expression on his face and turned towards the direction of the tunnel that Cody somehow knew led to the hotel.

Cody turned to see what Timothy was looking at, and he saw it too.

_Or rather, felt it._

It was a feeling, not a physical form. An entity.

He thought he could see two eyes, but it was more of a feeling of two eyes, like he was seeing something with his mind that couldn't be translated by the mere perception of his physical eyes, yet he knew and sensed and felt it was there, and that was all that mattered.

But that was not all, either. There was another, more powerful feeling that he felt, too.

Evil. Pure, unrestrained evil.

He wasn't sure how he immediately discerned that the feeling was evil. Truthfully, he had never even thought before that it was possible for evil to have an actual feeling behind it. Yet, it was there. At the same time, though, it wasn't just a feeling of evil, either.

Evil with a form. No, that wasn't true.

A mass.

A mass of evil.

As if someone had taken all the evil in the world and combined it into one huge form that had taken on malicious sentience, one that could know and think and plan. That's what this thing was. That was as best a possible description he could come up with in his head, and all these thoughts ran through his mind within the fraction of a second. It was even not so much a thought as it was an instant feeling of _knowing_.

_"He's found us! I'm severing the connec..."_ yelled Timothy, but at that point, Cody had a strong rushing sensation until the

_thing_

was right in front

_no_

he was suddenly _inside _the thing and he was completely paralyzed.

The _thing_ was covering him completely. A sensation of hateful, demonic evil washed over him. He could hear the voices, thousands of voices whispering all at once. He could sense the eyes. Hate filled, demonic eyes looking upon him the whole time. Wanting to kill him. There was a

_flashing?_

sensation, then a voice...

_"LET HIM Go..."_

_"Zack?"_

Then the world faded into darkness.


	5. Interlude A: What Cody Forgot

**Interlude A - What Cody Forgot**

_Four year old Cody sat up in his bed with a jolt. In the other bed across the room, Zack was sleeping soundly._

_Indeed, this was not entirely the four year old Cody that once was, but the present day Cody also, experiencing all of this in his mind._

_This, too, was also only a dream._

_But it had a strange sense of familiarity to it, and as Cody was watching all of this through the eyes of his four year old self, he found himself wondering:_

_'Is any of this real? Did any of this really happen?'_

_At the point in time in which four year old Cody had jolted wide awake, 25 year old Cody could see that the room was very different than he remembered it._

_It was still the same room, to be sure, but what was being seen now was not the normal, physical room that had been up until that night when their mom had tucked the four year old versions of them into bed and said goodnight. What was normal was that the room was dark, being lit up only by four different nightlights, each in a different plug._

_What had changed was now there were hundreds of glowing green words along with what appeared to be drawings all over the wall, the ceiling, and even on the floor. _

_While four year old Cody had not been able to read any of the words, the 25 year old Cody experiencing (or re-experiencing?) all this could understand everything just fine._

_The words were an assortment of random words and pictures that seemed to follow no logical pattern._

_There was a picture of a Celtic style cross that had been scratched out._

_Underneath was the caption: 'We do not believe'._

_Elsewhere was another phrase: 'There is a HOLE here! Get out while you still can!'_

_Other phrases: 'I can see the Dark Man. He scares me. Nobody believes me. He's standing at the foot of my bed.'_

_'I hate her. I want to kill her. We hate her. We want you to kill her.'_

_'I can see you Zack and Cody. Maybe you can see us.'_

_'I don't think this is working. If it wasn't for the kids...'_

_'HELP! GOD! PLEASE!'_

_'Mommy, I'm scared.'_

_Picture of a pentagram._

_Unusual splotches of something on a corner of the wall. Above it, written: 'KILL HER!'_

_Another: 'I OFFER THIS SACRIFICE UP TO YOU, LORD ABADDON!'_

_Cody was looking around at all of this through his four year old eyes in a surprised wonder. 25 year old Cody was looking around at all of this through his adult eyes wondering just what the heck he was seeing._

_(No. None of this can be real. This didn't happen.)_

_Another word began to form on the wall, a little bolder than the rest. 'DANGER!'_

_And a few seconds later, another: 'OUTSIDE'._

_Even though Cody, in his four year old mind, certainly couldn't understand what these words said, for some reason walked over to the window and looked outside._

_There were hundreds of them, must have been. Bright, glowing beings. All surrounding the house. They were not human, but they were in the forms of humans. They were transparent, you could see right through them, but not in the same manner as ghosts. Everything about them was white, but it wasn't a normal kind of white. The way they moved was not as if something on the physical plane of existence, but almost as if inter dimensional. Their hair was as if it was made up of fire, and it moved with that similar quality as one might see in a flame. Their eyes all glowed with an intense burning. _

_They were all (?armed?) with some sort of (?weapons?)._

_But as Cody looked closer, he could see something else._

_Some ways away BEHIND the beings, he could make out the shape of something that wasn't supposed to be there._

_Another humanoid shape, standing still in a sort of bent, crooked posture, unmoving, completely black. Just standing still. Not doing a thing. There was something wrong with it. Cody felt scared of this being. Not of the beings surrounding the house, just this one. _

_There was something wicked about it._

_(!DARK MAN!)_

_The letters and pictures all over the wall began to pulse. Cody could not hear, but feel the pulse._

_They began to turn black, but didn't fade to being unreadable in the barely lit room._

_This was a different kind of black. More words began to appear on the wall, in bright, glowing light; a complete contrast to all the other words and pictures in the room._

_'EVEN THOUGH YOU WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE HOLE OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH THAT IS UNDER THIS HOUSE, THOU SHALT NOT FEAR EVIL, FOR WE ARE ALWAYS WITH YOU.'_

_The demonic forms, two of them, each came out from under a different bed. The first came out from under Cody's, then Zack's. They were panther-like in form, but the way they moved was unusually fluid and completely unnatural. Their faces were completely unlike those of any creature that walked the earth, with glowing red eyes and grotesque faces twisted with an unnatural hatred. The one that crawled out from under Cody's bed looked at him and let out a guttural growl, showing its razor sharp teeth._

_The other paid no attention to him, but sat staring at Zack's bed longingly. _

_25 year old Cody was freaking out at the sight before him. Just what kind of twisted nightmare was this?_

_But, for some reason, he knew that four year old Cody had no fear at all. He just stood there watching all of this with a kind of detached awe._

_The wall lit up._

_With a piercing boom that, again, was felt more than heard, bright, glowing crosses began to appear all over the wall and illuminate the room._

_(Four year old Cody briefly wondered how Zack could still be sleeping through all of this.)_

_The panther like creatures began to shriek and writhe as the light almost seemed to come alive and physically attack them._

_The creatures were shuddering in agony as if they were being torn apart._

_A giant hole appeared in the middle of the room._

_The creatures gave a last few demonic shrieks and jumped down into it._

_The hole began to disappear and a giant, black red pentagram began to take its place._

_Words began to appear on top of it: 'THEY LET THEM IN!'_

_The scratched out Celtic cross began to pulse._

_Over the part of the floor where the hole had been, a much larger Celtic style cross appeared._

_Suddenly, everything vanished. Completely. The room was back to normal now. _

_Just like that._

_Cody looked around._

_There was nothing on the wall. He looked down. There was no hole in the floor, nor a pentagram, nor a cross._

_4 year old Cody walked over to the window. Nothing out there. Nothing at all._

_No bright, glowing figures wielding weapons._

_No Dark Man._

_25 year old Cody thought to himself: 'This couldn't possibly be real.'_

_Everything went black._


	6. Ghost Town

**Chapter 4**

**Ghost Town**

(1)

Cody shot wide awake.

Through the haze upon waking, he saw Moseby rushing towards him from the front of the car. "Is everything okay, sir?" He looked really concerned.

Upon waking, Cody had thought that he had heard a shrill scream that had jolted him awake, but upon looking around and noticing all the other passengers were casting surprised and concerned stares in his direction, he realized the scream must have been his own.

"Sorry." Cody said as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Must have had a nightmare, I guess."

"Is there anything I can get you?" Moseby asked. Cody said there wasn't, and Moseby informed him that they would be pulling into their destination in about 10 minutes before leaving to attend to another guest.

_Those were some freaky-ass dreams. _Cody thought to himself.

They had seemed so real when he was having them, but then again, don't all dreams feel that way?

He thought, for a second, that maybe the dreams _were _real, that maybe he really _had _spoken over some psychic link with Timothy Pike, that maybe he _had _actually been in mortal danger.

_No, that's impossible._

The _second _dream he'd had, he _knew _for a fact had never happened.

_That was the freakiest of all._

Words and pictures appearing on his bedroom wall? Strange, glowing, humanoid beings standing outside his window, looking in?

Grotesque, demonic creatures coming out from underneath the bed, intending to savagely... God knows what.

A portal to

_hell?_

that had appeared in the middle of the floor, the cryptic writings that made no sense...

_Yeah. If that was real, these aren't just things that you grow up and forget and don't leave a significant impact on your life._

Although.

For some strange reason, in a brief instance, Cody felt like maybe he _could _remember getting out of bed one night when he was around four or so, walking over to the window and looking out...

...but nothing.

No. He knew that for certain. No symbols,

_angels?_

demons, or cryptic writings.

His head started to hurt. Badly.

_I'm stressed. I'm losing it._

He was going to punch Zack's lights out. He just knew it. Then he was going to find the nearest bar and have a few drinks. Maybe he would even call Barbara up while he was at it, give _her _a piece of his fricking mind.

Screw them all.

His head really hurt. He signaled Moseby over and asked for some aspirin.

(2)

Cody stood directly in front of the Ghost Zone of Boston, right in front of the 'Police Line: Do Not Cross' yellow tape strewn all over a barbed wire fence that stretched on for miles around cordoning off the entire area.

_This whole thing is freaking ridiculous._

It sat, in the middle of the huge city, like some sort of giant wart. The rest of the city around it went about its business, active as normal, even at this late hour, but for this one extremely large portion, everything was dead, worn down, decayed, and in permanent disrepair.

Indeed, in our modern world in which 'science' and 'logic' supposedly had explained away anything having to do with magic, superstition, or some benevolent or (malevolent) deity that at one time had formed the cosmos, here it was. _Proof _that, even in this age of logic and reason, deep down inside, buried within in the subconscious level of humanity, people still believed in things other than what could be proven by science or rational thinking, if only in the tiniest amount.

If not, then why was this still here like this? They should have at least torn everything down and rebuilt by now. But they hadn't.

Human beings talk big. People tried to say that nothing really happened here, that there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for all the people who had disappeared over the years.

But they didn't really believe that. If they did, then there would be no such thing as the 'Ghost Zone of Boston'. No such thing as this monument to probably aliens, witches, demons, Satanists, and insert-whatever-crackpot-theory-that-you-can-come-up-with-and-pretend-you-don't-believe-could-have-been-a-possibility.

Cody laughed. But he didn't really believe either, did he?

No. He did. Something awful had definitely happened in this place. Perhaps even more than once. But he didn't want to believe. Because believing meant that his brother was possibly...

It amazed Cody how, just mere feet away from the zone, cars were whizzing by on the street, there was a strip center of shops just across the road with people walking by, families talking and laughing together, couples...

All around, the world was going on as if nothing were amiss. People acted as if the behemoth of a decayed, rotting, unhallowed ground that stood right in front of their very eyes was nonexistent.

_I guess that's just how people cope. _Cody thought.

_Whenever something horrible happens, or something that defies explanation, or something that inconveniences the average American way of life, they just want to sweep it under a rug and pretend it never existed._

Such was human nature.

Cody wanted to pretend the Ghost Zone didn't exist.

Indeed, he didn't even want to enter. He looked at his watch. 12:15.

By the time he got to the hotel, everybody would most likely be asleep. Good. If Zack was there, Cody would find him, sneak up on him, and give him a really nasty wake up call.

_If he's there._

Twinge of panic. Deepening of breath.

_Not true not true not true he's there I'm gonna find him and when I do I'm gonna kick his sorry little ass until..._

Cody ran a hand through his hair and gave himself a minute to compose himself.

_God, I really don't want to have to walk through here. I don't want to make it to the hotel and find out... that..._

For a second, he thought that if he _did _get there, and everything was okay, the relief would be so much he'd like to take Zack out and have a drink and catch up.

Sure, another joke would have been on him, he, Cody, just Zack's naive, gullible, "baby" brother, but by gosh, it would be such a relief to know everything was actually alright.

But Cody knew he would probably slug him instead. _Then _maybe they could go out for drinks.

Cody paced around the perimeter of the Ghost Zone. He wasn't sure where the entrance was, but he knew there was one somewhere, they would have had made one for Zack's crew.

After ten minutes of walking, he finally found it. A break had been made in the fence where it was cut wide enough for whatever big vehicles needed to get through, and there was a sign next to it with a painted picture of Zack drawn like a ghoul (every one of his themed nightclubs had one of these pictures next to the club name and on the sign over the entrance, usually neon) and giant, red, blood-dripping letters that said 'FUTURE SITE OF CLUB ZACK'S HAUNTED GHOST ZONE OF HORRORS!

Underneath, in black lettering, was added: 'Abandon all hope, ye who enter these unhallowed grounds!'

Zack's sense of humor.

Cody noticed there was something else, scribbled underneath, in much smaller, harder to see print at the very bottom, written crudely in with a magic marker: KARS.

Cody wasn't sure what it meant. Probably nothing.

Cody took a deep breath and entered.

He had kind of expected to feel something different when he crossed the threshold of the 'normal world' over into this bastion of some twisted alternate reality.

However, he didn't feel a thing. No strange sensations. No goose bumps breaking out on the flesh. No sudden impending sense of dread. The air was still the same as it was outside in the 'normal' city of Boston. It actually surprised him. Of course, on second thought, he wasn't sure _why _he had expected to feel anything different. He guessed with the legend surrounding it he had expected it to be more romanticized than it actually was.

Indeed, on second look, there really wasn't anything _too _spectacular about it. It was just an abandoned, decayed, and worn down piece of city.

It wasn't like he had crossed over into some alien world or some twisted, hellish plane of existence. This was still Boston. Just a piece of normal, unordinary city that people had gotten frightened to death to live in and had abandoned.

Cody could see the hotel. Of course, you could see the hotel well outside the Ghost Zone. It stood looming over the city like some type of giant idol, looking down upon all the insignificant masses of people who went about their daily, mindless business below as a ring of decay spread all around it, marking its territory, daring anyone who had the guts to come on into its kingdom and brave their very immortal soul to forces of darkness unknown.

Actually, looking at it now, all Cody saw was just an average building. Indeed, the entire city was filled with tall buildings. It was Boston, after all. It was just one out of many. It wasn't even the tallest building. One of the taller hotels in the world, maybe, (the Tiptons were apparently not known for their modesty) but just a hotel, nonetheless.

Cody looked all around him as he walked and saw everything now with different eyes.

Watching the specials on TV as a kid and reading about the legend in books, newspapers, or on the internet had romanticized it to a fantastic extent in his mind, but now he was almost disappointed to find that it just didn't feel like it lived up to the hype.

He had felt as a kid that if there was one place in the world that he truly never wanted to set foot in it would be here. He'd had numerous nightmares of being trapped in the Ghost Zone of Boston. Walking... walking... walking eternally, yelling out for help, no sign of any sort of exit anywhere, no one to heed his calls, the feeling that there was something or something(s) else with him, an evil presence, watching him silently, waiting for the screams to run out, waiting for him to tire of walking and collapse to the ground, and then it or they would descend upon him, and finally eternal darkness... another mortal soul lost forever in an eternity of a nightmare worse than death.

In the dreams, the buildings did not look as they did here. The buildings here were weathered, but normal. In the dreams, they had been something different, something more surreal, more twisted, more sinister looking.

If Cody had actually been brought here as a kid, he would have been terrified.

_Oh, Zack would have had a ball, for sure. It would have just made his day to been able to torment me endlessly in a place like this._

And...

_Maybe he is._

Cody was here. He had entered willingly. He was walking through the land of the dead. Nothing had happened yet. Except for the lack of people, nothing seemed terribly unnatural.

He passed by a park where the grass had grown waist high. He could barely make out a few benches on the edge. That was a bit of an unusual site to see. But not _unnatural._

Cody spotted a subway. He stopped. He thought about his dream.

_Tunnel. Railroad tracks._

He wondered.

He looked at the hotel. Maybe the hotel could wait. He was beginning to feel less scared. Empowered, maybe. He had just faced one of his greatest childhood fears and he felt just fine. Besides, he didn't want to go to the hotel just yet. He wanted to revel in this feeling for a little while longer.

_Maybe everything is alright yet._

His thinking was foolish. Silly, actually. He thought he might just go down into the tunnel, take a quick look, see if it

_resembles the tunnel from my dream?_

Silly. Pointless. But.

Cody found himself walking in the direction of it anyways.

Psychology books say that most of the fears that the average human being has in their lifetime never come true.

Cody knew this to be true. He knew that virtually none of the stuff he tormented himself over from time to time ever actually happened. As a kid, when Zack loved to torment him oh-so-much, he had always known, deep down inside, that it was all just a lark, that he was allowing his leg to be pulled yet again, just Zack getting the best of him one more time, but he had always feared anyways. He just couldn't help it.

Oh, of course, SOME of his worries came true. Like getting a divorce. But worries like THAT had been stuff he had seen coming from miles away. It wasn't a case of 'maybe', it was something that he could have practically GUARANTEED himself would happen.

Many of the health problems that his patients had, most of them actually, whether they were afflicted with actual illnesses or not, were often brought upon by themselves. They were chronic worriers, afflicted with depression, working 24 hour-a-day high-stress careers.

Yes, sickness may be predominantly physical, but a very large portion of it was psychological as well. At the very least, their bodies had a much harder time fighting off illness due to all the stress and worry. He knew that.

And he also knew that he was one of them. Anything he could try to recommend and say to his patients, he would have to just as much turn around and point the finger right back at himself.

Sometimes he fancied that he would probably drop dead someday at 40 from all the negative emotions he allowed himself to entertain.

Maybe he didn't care.

He wondered, if Zack were to turn up missing or dead, would something like that be the thing that sent him over the edge?

Cody had never actually been suicidal, but he often wondered just how capable he might be of it if life were to turn around and suddenly become really super-shitty one day?

He had seen it in one of his patients. A guy who had once been happy-go-lucky and constantly cheerful every time Cody saw him lost his wife and son one day in a car crash. Cody saw the transformation the guy went through, how his personality seemed to revert to the exact opposite almost overnight. Three months later, he had hanged himself.

He wondered what it would take for him to go over the edge like that. It was a very morbid thought, but he thought about it sometimes. He wasn't there yet, thankfully, and he hoped he would never be there, but still...

But coming here, facing one of his biggest childhood fears and being just fine up to this point, seemed to trigger something in him. He felt instantly better, better than he had ever felt before.

He was suddenly feeling adventurous. It was just like one of those PC Adventure games he had used to love to play when he was a teenager.

_Your brother is missing and you have to go to the Ghost Town of Boston and try and figure out what happened to him. Explore several different realistically rendered environments, read notes, find clues, and solve the mystery that has plagued the entire nation for generations._

He was the hero, the lead character, on a quest to dig into one of the strangest cases the world had ever known.

Maybe while he was here he would really play it up as long as he could.

Screw Zack. He was probably okay. If otherwise... well...

At least let him have this. At least pretend everything was fine and treat it just like a real adventure until...

Cody was standing at the stairs that led into the subway. He descended.

(3)

It was colder down here, he thought. Cody pulled out a small flashlight he had brought with him and flicked it on. It was small, but it was also a high powered flashlight. The beam lit up the darkness in a luminosity you wouldn't expect from its size.

The subway station looked even more normal than the city above, minus the trains that were no longer running. There was no train pulled up at the station where Cody had entered. He looked, and could see an office off to the right side of him.

He suddenly had an idea.

He walked over and tried the door. No luck. However...

Cody lifted his leg up and kicked it hard. Once... twice... the third kick sent it wide open.

Cody smiled. Just like a real adventurer.

There was nothing unusual about the office. The desk was rather messy, with papers strewn about all over. It looked like when the place had been abandoned they hadn't packed up anything, just left everything the way it was. Probably was what had really happened, too.

There was an old phone on the right of the desk, which is precisely what Cody had busted in here for, but first he shifted around through the papers on the desk.

_Just like in an adventure game._

But unlike an adventure game, these documents held nothing of any importance at all. They were really just all business related and flat out boring.

There was a wooden mailbox on the wall with slots for each employee, and labels with crudely written names on them.

Cody picked out one and looked through it.

_Getting multiple complaints about peeping toms in both the men's AND women's restrooms over the last few days. If you see any suspicious sorts loitering around, please let management know immediately._

Cody stuck it back in. There were a few others of even less interest. This was actually kind of boring.

Even the romanticized notion of playing an adventure game hero was beginning to pale in comparison within the constraints of real life.

Cody sighed and picked up the phone, dialing the number of the Tipton landline.

He thought that maybe he might have a little better luck dialing from within Boston rather than from his cell or a New York payphone.

Zack might finally answer not knowing it was him.

No such luck. After the 20th ring, (no answering machine this time, for some reason) Cody hung up.

He was just in the process of leaving the office when the phone suddenly rang shrilly, making him jump.

_Geez... bundle of nerves._

This excited him. Maybe someone at the hotel had heard the phone ring and dialed *69.

He walked over and grabbed it. He almost answered normally, then quickly switched to a lower tone of voice, hoping to disguise himself in case it was Zack.

"H... hello?" He asked.

Silence, then...

"Umm... hello? Who is this?" A young man's voice answered. Not Zack.

Cody dropped the false voice. "Uh, is this the Tipton landline?"

Silence. Then... "Umm... I'm not entirely sure."

_Not sure? _Cody thought, confused.

"This isn't the future site of Club Zack's Haunted Hotel of Horrors?" Cody asked.

"Oh, um. Yeah. I think that's what it was called."

Silence.

"You still there?" Cody asked.

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry. I just have a really horrible time remembering things sometimes. Especially now..."

_He's high. Or drunk._ Cody thought.

"Is Zack there?"

"Zack? Zack... OH! Yes, Zack is with us!"

Cody breathed an inward sigh of relief. So Zack WAS alright afterwards.

"Can I speak to him?"

Pause.

"No... no... I don't think that would be a very good idea."

"Why not? Is he sleeping?"

"I don't remember."

"Um... okay. Is there any way you could check? I really need to reach him."

"I don't know where he is."

"Well, is there anyone else there I can talk to?"

"Yes, there are lots of us here."

Pause.

"Well... COULD I speak to one of them, please?"

"No." The abrupt answer stuck Cody for a loop.

"Why not?"

Silence.

"Hello?"

"Yes, I'm here."

"Why can't I speak to someone else?"

"I'm not sure. You just can't."

Silence.

The heck was this guy on? This was by far the most bizarre conversation Cody had ever had in his life.

"May I ask who I'm speaking to?"

"Trevor."

The name rang a bell.

"Trevor Bates? The ghost hunter?"

The extremely cheerful change in tone made Cody jump.

"YES! Ghost hunter! That's it! That's who I am!"

Cody didn't know what to say. Before he could think of anything, Trevor interjected yet again.

"I just remembered what I wanted to tell you! Silver teapot! You have to find it! It can get you into that room! I... don't remember where I put it. But... you must find it! You need to..."

Pause.

"Oh, no. It's coming back! I have to go now. Find it. Find the silver teapot. You need to see the truth for yourself."

The line went dead.

Cody stood there perplexed.

_Fricking heck?_

He dialed the landline again. This time he got the answering machine. He hung up.

He was walking out of the office in a state of confusion when suddenly...

"Oh, CRAP!"

He suddenly realized what had just happened. Zack had just done it to him again.

Of course! Zack had turned the answering machine off! When it had rang and rang and rang, Zack had KNOWN it was him. Trevor was in on it. He had Trevor dial star 69 and screw with him a little bit.

Crap.

And he had played right into it.

Now Zack knew for a fact that he had gotten to him, that his stupid baby brother had actually gotten freaked out enough to come down here and...

Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap.

Now they knew that he was coming, and they were probably all getting into their hiding places at the hotel, ready to carry the game farther when he got there.

Cody was incensed. He had half a mind to ruin all their fun and just hop on the LimoLiner and go straight back to New York.

Let them spend their time hiding, planning, waiting and getting nothing for their troubles...

But he was too agitated. He needed to see them. To see his brother. He couldn't just go home empty handed. Zack would have known he would be thinking that way.

_Crap._

He was about to leave the subway when...

He turned towards the tracks. He had almost forgotten his original reason for coming down here.

He knew that this was stupid, but he just couldn't quell his morbid curiosity. He walked over to the edge of the platform and shined his light around.

Not good enough.

He wasn't sure really what he was thinking or what possessed him to do so, but he jumped down onto the tracks. He turned to his right and started walking up the tunnel.

It suddenly struck him he had to be careful of the electrical "third line." If it was active, and he stepped on it by mistake while down here, he would fry. He had to walk carefully and pay attention. Maybe it wasn't active. Maybe there was no power. But then again, there had been power to the phone. It only made sense. The city of Boston would have had to turn the power back on to the Ghost Zone for Zack and his crew. He would have to be careful. He knew enough from reading about to know relatively where he should step or not step.

He walked carefully for a while, feeling the darkness beginning to envelop him further, and despite the beam coming from his flashlight, he felt a sudden twinge of fear. It was the irrational fear of walking on the tracks in a dark tunnel on a subway, abandoned or not, and having the sudden thought of what-if a train were to come barreling down the tunnel all of a sudden?

He would be trapped here. Defenseless. Nowhere to run. Another disappearance would hit the newspapers. Nobody would ever find him because nobody would ever come down here. His bloody and mangled corpse would rot here for all eternity. He would have discovered at least one, normal, logical reason for one disappearance: his own. And it would be the last thing he ever saw.

'Course, this fear, too, was irrational. The place was closed down. Dead. The trains weren't running. They had rerouted the route of the trains to not have to come through the Ghost Zone of Boston. There was no possible chance that anything was going to suddenly come and run him down.

Unless it were a ghost train. But that was even more unlikely. The annoying voice of Zack, not his brother's voice as it is today, but the kid voice of Zack, taunted him mercilessly in the back of his mind.

_What's that? I think I can hear something..._

At this point, kid Zack would put his ear to the ground.

_I think it's a train. I think I can hear a train coming... RUN!_

And at that point, Zack would take off running, and Cody would go off running after him, panic enveloping all of his senses. Of course, Cody would hear nothing, nothing would come barreling down upon them, and by the time they climbed out onto the platform, Cody would have added yet another point on his list for all the times he's fallen for Zack's foolery.

He tried to shut out his voice in his head.

He didn't hear a train coming. Nor was one going to come. But something did strike Cody.

The tunnel _did _kinda look an awful lot like the one from his dream. But, what was he expecting, really?

A tunnel was a tunnel. In dreams, everything is too vague. It's easy to say something looks similar to a strange dream you had, but upon waking, the dream that had once seemed so real begins to fade away into a fog in your mind, until you remember only the key details of the dream (if you even remember it at all), and all other details become hazy.

It _was _possible to convince oneself that this was the exact same tunnel when, really, there was no possible way of proving such since the dream was far to hazy now to make a definite comparison.

Bah. Another pointless waste of time. What was he doing down here?

He had more important things to do. Like making sure Zack was still alive. Or kicking his ass.

He was starting to feel progressively more and more stupid by this point.

With a sigh, and mentally beating himself up in his head a bit, he turned around and started going back the way he came. Something rustled at his feet. He looked down. It was a piece of newspaper.

A cold chill ran up his spine.

_Coincidence... just a coincidence..._

He picked it up, praying to God he wasn't going to open it and it was going to be talking about his disappearance or Armageddon, and then not a train, but some evil malevolent entity was going to come barreling down upon him and then...

It was a copy of the Boston Herald. The main headline was of a prominent fugitive that the police had been searching for months who had finally been captured. Cody breathed a sigh of relief. His breath hitched when he saw the OTHER headline, on the lower part of the newspaper.

_Child Missing: Infamous Hotel To Blame?_

It was the article on Timothy Pike. Timothy Pike, the first victim after a long dry spell in the hotel's legendary history. Timothy Pike, the boy from his dream.

_Now this has GOT to be a coincidence!_

The paper was dated 1986. The Ghost Town of Boston had already been around for quite some time before this paper was printed. What was this doing down here?

Another oddity was that the paper looked brand new. But that COULDN'T be the case!

_Heh... and next thing I know I will hear Timothy Pike's voice saying to me: 'It isn't a coincidence.'_

If such a thing were to happen, he thought he would scream. At least Zack wasn't down here with him.

The whistling started.

It was coming just up the tunnel, towards the platform Cody had climbed down from.

It was a soft, tuneful, nonchalant whistle.

Like someone would make while going on a pleasant walk.

"Hello?" Cody called.

No answer.

"HELLO?" He called again.

He went unheeded. The whistling continued.

_A vagrant?_

It was possible, he guessed. He started to walk back, intending to confront the source, when it stopped suddenly.

Cody was a little spooked, not because he thought it was some sort of specter, but because he was down here all alone with some other person God-knows-who.

He flicked off his flashlight and walked cautiously.

He had a passing thought that what if there were such things as prophetic dreams; do events unfold differently in the real world than they do in the dreaming world?

He hadn't, for example, heard Timothy Pike speaking to him out of the darkness all of a sudden, but he had all of a sudden started hearing whistling.

Timothy's whistle?

And what next? How would the evil presence he experienced in his dream manifest itself here?

Ridiculous. Cody kept silent, walking carefully as not to make any footsteps. His caution-sense was on high alert. He didn't want to just run smack into this guy, he wanted to keep the upper hand. Walking softly, senses attuned, paying attention to the darkness, the silence, for any inconsistency that would give away another presence.

He could hear something coming up behind him in the tunnel.

He thought he was imagining it at first, but it started getting louder and louder, slowly but surely, and he realized that it was another voice yelling "HELLO?"

But it wasn't yelling HELLO the way a normal person would, someone who was calling out looking for someone or trying to confirm another presence; this one was repetitive, one after another, over and over again...

"HELLO? HELLO? HELLO? HELLO? HELLO? HELLO? HELLO? HELLO?"

This was not just a normal yelling, either. It was a time of booming yell, accentuated by the echoes in the tunnel, as if it was not just the voice of someone yelling, but the yelling was surrounding, consuming, getting progressively louder; the type of yell that could cause one to descend into madness, until all of a sudden what was behind it made itself known, not a human being, but something not of this world...

Cody bolted.

Possible vagrant in the front of him... God knows what in pursuit behind him. Cody was beginning to regret ever coming down here. He seldom thought about the dreaded "third line" as he ran.

_Coming down here, getting caught alone in one of the most abandoned, creepy places in the world, real smart, Cody. Real, real smart._

He reached the platform and bolted onto it. The whistler was not there.

He could still hear the voice down the tunnel,

_HELLO? HELLO? HELLO? HELLO? HELLO? HELLO? HELLO? HELLO?_

but it didn't seem as loud as before. Actually, it turned out that was only because he had been running fast. The voice was getting louder again, getting closer, still booming, surrounding him...

_**"HELLO? HELLO? HELLO? HELLO? HELLO? HELLO? HELLO? HELLO?"**_

Cody bolted up the stairs, out of the subway, and into the pitch blackness of the night.


	7. Zack

**Chapter 5**

**Zack**

(1)

There were probably two of them down there. Whether or not Zack was one of them, Cody did not know.

But it had to be. They must have been watching him from the moment he set foot into the Ghost Zone.

Either that, or when he had made that phone call, they had somehow traced it and immediately went into action.

Whichever one it was, there was one thing Cody was certain of.

One of them had followed him down into the tunnel. This one was the whistler. The other one had positioned himself on the next platform over. Maybe one each had been planted on both sides, and whichever one Cody was headed for was prompted to take action.

Cody had been stupid enough to give away his position by calling out.

He ran outside and stayed in hiding for about half an hour, keeping an eye on the subway entrance. He was waiting for them to come out. It was about 1 o' clock in the morning now.

Nobody emerged. Maybe they had anticipated this, too. Maybe they had emerged from another area.

Cody wasn't in any hurry. He was inclined to make the others wait as long as he darn well pleased. Let them get bored for a little bit.

Since enough time had elapsed, he decided to go back down into the tunnel. Perhaps they were still down there, laughing their heads off. Maybe he would catch them both and instantly end this charade.

He flicked his flashlight on and went back down. Nobody. He shined his light all around. He went back and checked the office.

It seemed like the two were long gone. But maybe...

He walked back over to the tracks and jumped down.

He shined his light in both directions.

Though horror films didn't do much for Cody nowadays like they had affected him when he was a kid, he remembered those cliche scenes that every horror film had where the hero or heroine would be walking over to a door or closet, or into some dangerous area where you either knew or suspected that whatever monster was the star of the film was hiding behind, and you would yell over and over to the screen; 'No! Don't go over there! Turn around and get the heck out of there!' and you are thinking to yourself, 'If this ever happened to me, I would never be this stupidly brave.'

Cody had done that many times. And yet, here he was, in such a very situation, doing it himself.

He wondered what was going to jump out and try to devour him.

Nothing did. He shined his light both directions several times, but his light illuminated nothing out of the ordinary. He thought of yelling out again, but that would be pointless. It would just alert them, if they were still down here, that the game was still on, and the whole thing would start all over again. It would be worse if one was right outside and decided to come down into the tunnel.

Hopefully he hadn't already been spotted going back down and been followed.

As it turned out, he hadn't been. He climbed back onto the platform, went up the stairs, and exited back into the night without further incident.

Well, they were probably all waiting back at the hotel by this point. It was time to go kick some butt. Let the games begin.

(2)

The hotel grounds were dark. Pitch black. They apparently had completely cut the lights. Not a creature was stirring. Cody shut off his flashlight as he approached. His eyes were adjusted well enough to the night, and the moon was full with not too many clouds in the sky, so he could see just fine.

He walked by darkness, merging with it, using it as his cloak. He didn't want anyone to know he was coming. It was his only chance to gain the upper hand and get the drop on someone.

This prank was more elaborate than he had realized. Zack had really gone all out, getting EVERYBODY in on it.

He had resolved in his mind that it was indeed all just a prank and nothing supernatural of the sort. Nobody had disappeared. They were all here, somewhere within the Tipton. It was simply screw-with-Cody night, and all the stops had been pulled out.

Heaven HELP the first person he ran into.

Several giant bulldozers and a bunch of other construction equipment were on the grounds.

There was a small trailer off on the left side, in front of the hotel.

Cody wondered if it was Zack's. He wasn't sure who all was staying on the grounds. The only people he knew for certain were Zack, Trevor and Maddie. It was probably Zack's, Maddie and Trevor would most definitely be sleeping in the hotel, and Cody could only see two cars on the premises.

He recognized Zack's SUV, and there were two vans that, oddly enough, reminded him of the Mystery Van from Scooby-Doo. Considering the most likely owners, that might have been intentional.

Cody had no idea if workers were present on the grounds, or anyone else associated with Club Zack. He figured there probably should be, but he didn't see any evidence of them. He headed for the trailer.

He didn't walk directly toward it. He kept to the shadows and went around it where he wouldn't be seen from the windows.

Back pressed against it, he reached over and slowly tried to turn the handle. It was unlocked.

He pressed himself right up at the door, slipped inside quickly, and closed it.

He had his flashlight out in a second and whipped it around, looking for the telltale presence of another person.

It wasn't a trailer in the RV sense, it was a simple, small one room place set up for it's occupant to eat, sleep, do work, and nothing more.

There was nobody there, and the only place someone could be hiding was in the closet. He opened the door, bracing himself for a _BOO! _or something similar, and found nothing more than hanging clothes.

Satisfied he was alone, he continued his investigation. The area was small, but spacious enough.

The place was a wreck. The first thing that he noticed upon entering was that the inside of the entire trailer was covered with crosses. Someone had taken a marker and drawn crosses all over the walls, the door, and ceiling. The two windows had two strips of duct tape each, one going horizontally, and the other going vertically. Down on the floor, the carpet was ripped up. Someone had taken a knife and cut out sections of the carpet all over the place, again forming the shapes of crosses. There was a knife lying on the floor, amidst the scraps of carpet. The scraps of carpet themselves had been arranged to form crosses in a very delicate manner.

He also spotted a cell phone on the floor. He bent down and picked it up. It was the latest model of Blackberry, but the screen had been smashed in.

Cody looked around. He wondered if this might be Zack's trailer, but he couldn't fathom that Zack had done this.

_Could he have gone so far as to wreck his own trailer just to pull one over me?_

On the wall was a large, pin up poster of a playboy model. There was also a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit calendar on the same wall on the opposite side.

Cody shone his light on the desk.

The most prominent feature was the laptop. The desk was covered with papers haphazardly strewn all about. They seemed to consist of building plans, proposals, stuff like that.

There were numerous action figures based off of famous characters from pop culture, placed in a haphazard yet seemingly strategic fashion all around the desk. He spotted Darth Vader, Freddy Krueger, William and Shady, and Sonic the Hedgehog, just to name a few.

There were several vodka bottles sitting on the desk, one of them opened, and the wastebasket underneath the desk was overflowing on the ground.

Even if someone hadn't ripped up the carpet for some reason, this place would have looked like a mess anyways. There were clothes thrown haphazardly in the corner next to a small bed which was not made up, the sheets halfway on the floor.

Cody was pretty sure this was Zack's room. Cody had had to clean up his own room that had looked pretty much like this (but without the carpet torn up) back when they were kids and he was forced to share a room with Zack.

Cody walked over to the desk, opened up the laptop, and punched the power button.

Nothing.

The laptop was connected to the A/C, he could see that. He wondered if the power could actually be out.

He decided to chance the light switch. Nothing.

Could they have actually gone as far as turning off the circuit breakers?

Cody gave one last sweep around the room as he was ready to leave when his flashlight spotted one more thing lying in the middle of the mess on the desk as if an afterthought: It was a PDA.

Cody snatched it up and flicked it on. It worked.

Cody poked through it a bit until he found that not only did it belong to Zack, but he had apparently been keeping a digital diary. He felt tempted to skim through starting with the earlier entries, but resisted and instead found the entry of Zack's arrival to the hotel and started there.

(3)

**June 2, 4:32 PM**

Finally arrived today. It was a circus outside. You would have thought you were attending Michael Jackson's funeral! About a third of the city must have turned out. Everybody was just standing around, silently! As we cut through the chain link fence to make a way for the trucks to get into the Ghost Zone, you could practically hear everyone stop in their breath. There were no words. Everyone just stood around watching, like they expected us to evaporate into thin air the moment we crossed the threshold. I can still see them now, with my pair of binoculars, from this distance. Many of them have binoculars of their own. Many have gotten bored and left, others keep loitering about.

They seem to come in shifts; people get tired and leave for awhile, then come back later, it keeps switching around. Another crowd generated about the time everyone was supposed to get off from work, creating a huge traffic jam in the streets. It was like that this morning, too. We had to have police clear a way in the street for quite a ways so we could get our trucks and equipment in. I think the whole city has popped by for a look by this point. Every news station in the city is outside, and there are several news choppers circling overhead, it's kinda annoying. It's a little less creepy now because people are talking and interacting with each other now, but it was unnerving how everyone stood there staring at us in cold silence.

There was this kid there. I don't know why, but he creeped me out most of all. Looked about 9 or 10, black hair, pale complexion, piercing green eyes. I couldn't see any parents. Just stood there by himself, staring, like all the rest. I don't know exactly what it was about him that unnerved me out so much. I look out there sometimes and he seems to have gone away. But I look out again later, and he's back, almost as if he popped out of nowhere, just staring. I know this is impossible, but when I was looking with my binoculars out of my office earlier, I coulda sworn that when I focused on him, he was staring right back at me! Like, he could actually see me clearly! But that's impossible! I was inside, and this is too great a distance! But fricking creepy! He doesn't interact with anyone else, just stands there staring! I want him to go away.

In other news, setup has gone fairly well, and we are slated to start demolition tomorrow. I had a walk through the entirety of the hotel this afternoon. It's such a nice piece of work. It's a shame it has to be torn down. I am afraid I must say that even though I walked almost every inch, save for the hundreds of individual rooms themselves, I did not encounter any strange specters or unusual supernatural activity of any sort. I even had a walk around the rooftop, and no aliens appeared to abduct me. Maybe they will wait till tonight to show. Maybe I'll have another walk on the rooftop tonight. Yeah. A second foray through the hotel at night! I'm not scared! While I was on the roof, I thought of using my binoculars to look down upon the crowd, but I had this irrational fear that that creepy kid would be staring _up _at me this time! I know it would be impossible, but I just didn't want to take the chance. I felt like something like that might completely unnerve me, even though I don't feel there is anything of the supernatural sort taking place here, nor am I sure there ever was.

Another minor but slightly interesting note, I set up my theodolite and was surveying the area, but it has this strange glitch. Whenever I focus it on the coordinates 271x632, it starts going all on the fritz and getting staticky. Odd thing, I could have sworn that in the midst of the static, there was some sort of strange symbol that appeared. I'm not sure if it's something that's supposed to show up when the machine has an error, but something about it really bugged me. I drew it on my notepad, and am going to contact technical support tomorrow. I really hate getting stuck with faulty equipment! Another thing, and I know this has nothing to do with anything, but I've had this really strange word stuck in my head. It started shortly after the theodolite started acting up, and its been running through my head all day: 'KARS'.

Just like that, I can see the spelling in my head and everything. Stupid, I know. But this is my personal diary and I can put whatever crap goes through my head that I want. But the main reason I'm writing about it is because I'm thinking of using it as the name for a new club. It could be themed out like a retro car show, with actual old models of cars all over the place. It could even double as a place for people to bring their own old cars and show them off, and I could attract a new type of clientele. I'll call it 'Kars' just to be catchy. Maybe I'll put it in Vermont or somewhere. I haven't put a club in that state yet. Well, one of the workers needs something from me, so I have to go. All those people are still standing outside. I think that kid is still out there too. Not going to use the binoculars.

**June 3, 11:01 AM**

Fricking HECK. We were supposed to start demolishing today and getting work underway, but we've been set back till. the. fricking. 15TH! See the date? See what date it is right now? See how many days I'm going to be stuck here, sitting on my ass doing NOTHING? And why, oh, why the setback you ask, dear PDA? Because of some deal that's been going on behind our backs. TIME magazine, which interviewed me recently, struck a deal with the City Council to shoot a documentary of the hotel's final days. The key component to this is that they are bringing in two GHOST HUNTERS! to spend the night in the hotel for over a week, to videotape and document everything that goes on within that time span.

Supposedly, we were not informed of this because it was looking like the whole thing was going to fall through because they weren't sure they could find ghost hunters who had enough balls to give it a shot. Bullcrap. They've had two such people ready to go, students from NYU, from the very beginning. I checked. I'm a lot more resourceful person than some people, like Cody, give me credit for. What they were REALLY trying to do was wait and see if we all vanished on the first day. They wouldn't dare ADMIT it, but that's what they were trying to do. The chicken-shit representative they sent out to hand me the temporary injunction wouldn't even cross over into the Ghost Zone! I had to go out and meet him at the border!

They didn't tell us, because they needed us to actually show up for their little experiment to yield results. The ghost hunters are supposed to show up tomorrow. Meanwhile, I'm supposed to sit on my butt doing nothing, my workers are supposed to sit on their butts doing nothing, and I'm supposed to PAY their butts for every day they are here sitting around doing nothing, while some nerds are poking around the hotel with a bunch of stupid fancy equipment, convincing themselves that they are picking up voices that aren't really there, hallucinating that they are seeing things that aren't really there... geez. I guess it won't KILL me to take a break for a bit, I just really hate when I'm ready to dive into something and I get halted by stupid crap like this. Oh, and in other problems, we seem to have some pranksters on the property. Last night, at around one o' clock, I woke to the sound of whistling. I went outside to investigate, but when I would go in the direction of the sound, it would switch and start coming from another location. Each time I would turn and go in the direction of the new sound, it would switch again! I tried running in the direction of the sound a few times, but to no avail. It eventually stopped, and I felt like an ass running all over the hotel grounds chasing whistling. It had to be kids, cause I couldn't see ANYBODY. Maybe I'll get myself a BB gun and SHOOT in the direction of the sound if it happens again. Maybe I can get the ghost hunters to waste their time running around trying to figure it out instead. That would be fun to watch.

**June 4, 5:33 PM**

I expected the ghost hunters to be a couple of dorky science geeks in sweater vests, thick rimmed glasses, and a nasally sort of speaking like you would expect from college students pursuing this sort of dorky degree. And they are anything but. Maddie Fitzpatrick and Trevor Bates. Maddie, I really don't know what to say about her. I have believed, for my entire life, that there is no such thing as love at first site. I just don't believe that it exists. But when Maddie first got out of the van, I couldn't breathe. She was just so fricking GORGEOUS. I was instantly taken with her from the moment I laid eyes on her. She's not as young as I thought she would be, either, in fact, she's actually four years older than me.

I found out that she has already graduated college previously with a Master's in psychology. She specializes in child psychology, and her going back to NYU to pursue a degree in Paranormal Sciences is something she is doing just for fun. Paranormal Sciences is a recent course that has become available, as public interest has started causing it to be recently viewed more and more as a legitimate science and they decided to make it into an actual degree, if you can believe it.

The Tipton legend apparently has had the biggest hand in the interest in paranormal research, and it was sort of on the university's agenda to actually send a crew who was brave enough in at some point. When it was revealed that the hotel was being demolished and I was planning on sticking my insane idea for a nightclub on the spot, NYU jumped on the ball to make sure the expedition got launched in time before it was gone for good. Apparently, launching such a study that nobody else in the world would dare think of attempting will cause the school to gain a legendary status, from their point of view. Because of the rapidity with which my project was moving forward, they had to slap this expedition together really quickly, and only found two people brave enough to give it a go.

Of course, for something "slapped together", this mission is incredibly high tech. All of the equipment they are using is state-of-the-art, a lot of it isn't even on the market yet! NYU spared no expense out of its pocket to make sure the study got the best possible treatment. Maddie and Trevor showed me all of their equipment and explained it in great detail. I actually found it all kind of fascinating. I'm not so much upset like I was yesterday anymore, in fact, I really do wish them the best of luck! Of course, I'm probably saying that mostly because of Maddie. I did a bit of probing around, I'm pretty sure that the relationship between Maddie and Trevor is strictly platonic. I'm gonna ask her out tonight.

Maybe all this time spent sitting around won't be so bad after all. I have a few other minor projects I can spend my time working on in my office, and if I have a hot date each night, hooray for me! Trevor is an okay guy too. He's not a preppie either, he's an honest, funny, down to earth guy. The kind of guy I can go out for a few beers with and talk sports and all that good stuff. We'll have to hang out sometime. Oh, I almost forgot, mostly because my mind is filled with thoughts of Maddie, =) the intruder or intruder(s) came back last night. I woke up at around three in the morning to hear whistling outside my trailer. I got out, took aim with my BB gun, and fired. The noise stopped for a second, but then started up again in another location! I ran over there, and it stopped, but I SAW him. I saw a kid running off! I didn't catch him, he got away from me, but here's the interesting part: I swear to God it was the creepy kid who was staring at me the other day!

A chill ran up my spine when I first saw him, but I was still mad and wanted to chew his butt out, though I unfortunately couldn't catch him. That kid better hope I don't see him again. If I see him tomorrow standing outside or inside the Ghost Zone, I'm gonna walk up to him and give him a piece of my mind. He won't evade me so easily in broad daylight. Where the heck are that kid's parents? What kind of parents let their kid walk the city alone all day, and go prowling around at night? This is the big city. Don't they know how dangerous that is? I let Maddie and Trevor know about it, and they promised to keep an eye out. I left out the part about the whistling changing locations, 'cause I KNEW what they would both instantly think of that, and while I respect what they are doing, I really feel I wouldn't want to play a part in encouraging that sort of thing. Let them do their own research. If they find something interesting, cool. If not, better for me.

**June 5. 12:45 AM**

I am so pissed off right now. That kid came back tonight, just now. I woke up to the sound of heavy pounding on my door! It wasn't a pounding like someone was knocking, it was as if someone had taken a jackhammer and was slamming it repeatedly against the door. I grabbed my BB gun, wishing it were a real gun, God knows I'm gonna get me a real one tomorrow, and headed over to the door. The pounding naturally stopped right before I got to it and opened it. I yelled out at the intruder with a string of obscenities, but I couldn't see which way he went. I turned around, and was going to go back inside and sit and wait to see if he came back, and that's when I saw it, and my rage REALLY came to a boil.

In giant red letters, graffitied across the side of my trailer, were the words: 'GET OUT!' At that point, I lost it, and went on a thorough manhunt all over the grounds for an hour. I didn't turn up anything, but here is the REAL kicker. I got back to my trailer, fuming and cursing under my breath, and the graffiti was gone! I don't know how, but by God, it had somehow been completely removed! Stupidly, I had been spending so much time searching everywhere else that I left my trailer unguarded! He must have been here the whole time! I've gone through all my stuff meticulously, and I'm certain I haven't been robbed, though I don't think the perp was actually inside. Thank God, but good Lord this pisses me off. I haven't had one decent nights sleep yet thanks to this bull!

Anyways, I'm pretty sure it has to be that kid again. I don't know HOW he's pulling these stunts or WHY he seems to have marked me to terrorize, but I wish he would leave me the heck alone! I decided to keep this from Trevor and Maddie as well. I told them that the prankster returned and was banging on my door, but that's it. They've set up several cameras above the Tipton front entrance, giving them a clear view of the grounds. Hopefully, if he comes back again, we'll get a good shot of him on camera.

Maddie and Trevor and I are hitting it off great! My instincts about Trevor were right. I've only known him for two days, but already it feels like we are best friends. And Maddie, I've been talking to her even more. I really connect with her. Like, in a way I feel I've never connected with a woman before. And believe me, when it comes to women, I've had a LOT. But there's something special about her. Something different. I feel I can really open up to her, and I did. I talked about things with her that I've never shared with anyone before. She opened up to me as well. I mean, I really have never felt this way before in my life. I asked her out. She accepted. I was walking on air the rest of the day. As a guy who can get a woman whenever he wants, I found myself feeling like an awkward teenager again. And I really liked it.

I still don't buy into the whole ghost business, but Maddie and Trevor captured some very interesting video footage last night. They have equipment set up in every major area on the ground floor, in the lobby, the restaurant, the pool, ect. They also have cameras set up in rooms where several key guests were supposed to have been staying the night of the disappearances. They've been thorough. They set up office on the 13th floor, in room 1313. Trevor's idea of a bit of ironic humor.

The place is covered top to bottom in equipment. Books and old newspaper clippings litter the rest of the area. They have a central computer which keeps track of all the cameras at once, which are always recording and feeding to the computer's hard drive. I will say this, the video feeds they have captured thus far... are kind of unnerving. But not enough to make me a believer yet. What they captured seem to be... shadows. Moving shadows. It's kind of hard to discern. I wouldn't put it past being a glitch in the cameras themselves. All of this equipment is highly specialized for this kind of stuff; IE calibrated to better catch bizarre variations in lighting and such. Not to mention most of this stuff is still technically in beta. A lot of this equipment was funded by NYU itself and kind of all rushed off the printing press in order to make it to this mission in time. But it is a little interesting, nonetheless.

**June 6, 10:12 PM**

We went out tonight. I swear, it was the most magical date of my life. I'm not just saying that. I mean, I wasn't my usual self when I'm on dates. I didn't have to be. Every single date I've been on since I can ever remember, I've put on a face. I've played the part of the cool, suave, worldly sophisticated entrepreneur. I've said and done whatever it takes to get the girls I go out with into bed on the very first night. If I wanted to be a with a girl that night, I would play it like a numbers game, going from girl to girl, saying and doing whatever I needed to until I finally got one. Rarely did it last longer than one night. I think my world record is a little over a week.

But with Maddie, everything was different. I didn't have to act. I was just myself. It wasn't like going on a date with a girl. It was more like hanging out with a best friend, but someone even closer than that. I didn't even try to get her into bed. With most dates, that was pretty much my main goal. If I spent my whole night investing and got nothing in return, I considered it pretty much a wasted night. With her, I didn't want to even try. I felt I didn't want to do anything even remotely capable of messing it up. I... want her to be a part of my life too much. I don't ever want to be with another woman again. I think hell just got a few degrees colder.

Oh, that prankster didn't come back tonight. Bummer. But what else can I say? It was a perfect day. Maddie and Trevor recorded some more of those shadows. Trevor seemed really intrigued. It seems the amount of shadows they captured have increased. I have no personal opinion. After all, I used to believe there were no such things as true love, soul mates, or love at first sight. Sure, why not? Throw a few ghosts and ghouls in there for good measure. My whole world is being turned upside in every way I never thought imaginable. =)

**June 7, 7:01 PM**

Okay, I'm kinda freaked out now. I still don't know how much I buy into the legend surrounding the hotel, but ghosts? I think I believe now. What Maddie and Trevor managed to capture with their equipment was beyond disturbing. The shadows have tripled now. And what's more, I swear I've seen them. Not on camera, but with my own very eyes. I thought it was a trick of my eyes and the lighting at first. But I was headed through the lobby; I was going to take the stairs to 1313 (Trevor's sense of humor comes at a price, it's a walk. I can't believe he talked Maddie into dragging all their equipment up to the 13th floor!) when I saw it in the corner of the lobby. It was as if a shadow was coming out of the corner and expanding. It got bigger and bigger until finally vanishing in a few seconds! But it _wasn't_ just my eyes tricking me, the whole thing was captured on camera! I watched the replay, the shadow forming just as I had seen it, and myself, standing there with the shocked expression on my face!

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. They captured voices. The first one was easy enough to be skeptical of, it was a bunch of static which, when adjusted well enough, it sounded like there was a sort of frantic, staticky voice saying _"GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!" _over and over again. There were a bunch of other sound files they gathered, also coming in very unclear, some of which seemed to have unusual sounds coming from them. Possibly just feedback, but there was no way to prove one way or the other. There was one file which, when enhanced, sounded like whispers. Hundreds, maybe thousands. It was barely audible on the file, though, and hardly conclusive of anything.

But then... we found 'it'. This was what turned me into a believer for good. You definitely can't attribute this to equipment glitches, or rationalize this away in any conceivable manner. Trevor pulled up a new sound file he hadn't messed with yet. Nothing, but he spent a good fifteen minutes playing around with the different sound channels, playing around with this and that switch, and all of a sudden, he must have tuned in on exactly the right frequency, as everything suddenly completely cleared up, and we heard it, just as audible as if talking to another human being face to face.

It was a crystal clear audio of someone with a low, deep voice chanting in a foreign language. I don't think there was a single one of us that didn't completely freeze and go pale when Trevor tuned that final frequency and the voice came through. Trevor had a shocked look on his face, and continued to play with it some more, tuning it out and back in again, in sheer disbelief. This is something that never in the history of paranormal research has ever occurred. Trevor started recording the voice onto a different file and began cross referencing it on the internet with known foreign languages, particularly old or obscure ones, or ones that had once been known to have been spoken by various native American tribes that had once inhabited the area. No matches came up.

Listening to the voice, though... I don't know. I felt something... horrible. Like, pure terror. I wanted to grab the computer, smash it, run, get the heck out of there and never come back. I've never felt such a strong, intense feeling of fear. Maddie and Trevor said nothing, but I could see it on their faces. They were clearly just as freaked out as I was. Whenever Trevor would tune the voice out, the feeling would go away. It would be as if it were all a just dream, like it was never really there. Then he would tune it back again, and the horrible feeling of dread would return. The voice had an almost hypnotic feeling to it. Like, as you started listening to it long enough, you began to feel differently. Everything else around you was slowly tuning out, and the voice was beginning to take the place of reality, and indeed, the world, the hotel, and the people with me, were beginning to feel less and less real, and all that was there was the voice, and you had to try and keep your mind focused, 'cause if you let your guard down, it might invade your mind and take control of you completely...

I remember in the middle of all this, Trevor said something strange. He said: "There is a hole here." When I asked him later what hole he had been talking about, he acted confused. When I asked Maddie, she said she hadn't remembered him saying it either. Did I imagine it? Or was that strange voice really hypnotizing us? Trevor is still up there playing around with it now. I don't like it. I don't feel good about him being alone in that room with it. It... scares me. Maddie and I were supposed to go out tonight, but we don't feel like it now. She's going to come over for drinks in a moment and we are just going to sit and talk. I don't suspect there will be much else we'll be capable of tonight.

**June 7, 8:45 PM**

Maddie and I talked for awhile, then she went off to take a shower and get refreshed, and I decided to pop in and check on Trevor. I must admit, I was a little scared of what I might find. But Trevor seemed okay. And he didn't. Maybe I was just being paranoid, seen one too many horror films. But I felt he looked a little haggard. His eyes had a tired, almost glazed over look to them. He still hadn't had any luck with the voice, and was back to monitoring the cameras, trying to pick up new sound files that might be of interest.

He said he had worked up some new theories. Mr. Tipton's personal room was one of the first things that Maddie and Trevor had searched as soon as they had set up, and it had been remarkably disappointing. For such an iconic figure who had been accused of everything from possible murder to devil worship, it was really just an ordinary bedroom. Maddie and Trevor went over it with a fine tooth comb, hoping maybe to chance across some secret panel or something, but nothing. The books that he kept of his room were of various subjects, some literature, some scientific and history texts, several Bibles, studies on various world religions... no books on Satanism or the occult, no tell-tale diary that might give off a greater look at the man behind the legend.

But according to Trevor, he had been sitting there working on the computer just now when it hit him. In fact, he was beating himself for not thinking about it before. Actually, I kinda was too. It was so freaking obvious and yet completely overlooked.

"What if..." Trevor asked.

"...Mr. Tipton kept more than one room in the hotel? What if he had another, or even SEVERAL rooms that he used for other purposes? Maybe he even kept them secret from the rest of the hotel staff themselves! He could have frequently forged guest names on the register so no one would suspect. It would have been perfect!"

I'm just as excited as he is. When Maddie comes up, we are going to discuss a new plan of action. Me and Trevor are talking about all of us splitting up, checking every single room, and looking for any locked doors or any rooms where anything seems even the slightest out of the ordinary. Of course, there are plenty of rooms where things are not ordinary. After all, none of the personal affects of the guests have been removed at all. Everything is still nearly exactly the same as it was that fated night of the disappearances. Actually, it's been a priority on Maddie and Trevor's list to set up equipment in guest specific rooms and check for paranormal activity, but they just haven't gotten around to that yet. We're going to try and begin that process tomorrow.

Yeah, I'm fully in on this now. I think I've just about completely forgotten about my freaking nightclub, or that I'm an affluent owner of the most successful nightclub chain in the nation, maybe even someday the world, and that once I could have had anything or any woman that I wanted just by conceiving of it... all that exists is me the way I am, now. Zack Martin. Love-struck-ghost-hunter extraordinaire. And a kinda scared love struck ghost hunter at that. I mean, what if the legend WAS true? What if our coming here triggered something? They say the hotel was going through a dry spell before the Pike boy vanished, maybe he was the trigger. It finally got one brave enough to enter its forbidden kingdom, and then acquired the strength to keep devouring more. We were brave enough to venture onto this place; have we triggered something? Are we next? Are we about to find out firsthand what happened to all those people on that fateful night? And if we are, exactly how much longer do we got left?

**June 7, 10:48 PM**

Maddie, Trevor and I had a long talk. We have to consider the possibility that MAYBE, just MAYBE, we might be in mortal danger. The shadows are manifesting with greater rapidity. I have seen a few more. Maddie and Trevor have both witnessed a few manifestations now personally.

Tomorrow, we spare no expense. We move fast. It's said that Mr. Tipton was always kept to himself and eccentric, but noticeably even more so leading up to the night of the disappearances. But what if he had good reason too? What if he, like us, had begun figuring out that something was incredibly amiss? What if he felt that he, his staff, and all the hotel guests were in danger, and was working feverishly day and night to find a way to stop it? What if he had been too late, left his work unfinished, somewhere in the hotel where it could be found, maybe even finished? We may have wasted far too much time already, but we have to try. We COULD just leave, but what good would that accomplish? The media would paint me as a coward, no doubt. They would say that I was unable to put my money where my mouth is. That in the end, I couldn't handle it, and chickened out.

Not that they would have done anything differently. None of them would ever have had the guts to actually cross the line into the Ghost Zone like I did. Such is the nature of human hypocrisy. Maddie and Trevor would probably get the worst of it. The Boston City Council, TIME, NYU... their deal would completely fall through, probably damage their academic careers irreparably.

I mean, we got some interesting stuff alright, but the investigation is still incomplete. Who knows what kind of crap might get taken out on them for us doing the sensible thing and trying to cover our own butts?

Of course, once again, none of them would have had the guts in a million years to do what Maddie and Trevor have attempted to do. They should have been able to send a whole team here, but only two had nerves of steel enough to step up to the plate and volunteer. That's why things have been going so slow with the research. All of this equipment is MEANT to be run by an entire team of people! Half of the work for Trevor and Maddie has been just figuring out HOW all of the equipment works and getting a feel for the various technologies, troubleshooting, ect. But I say again, such is the nature of human hypocrisy. But it really runs deeper than all that. I don't care what people say about me. I can recover. Maddie and Trevor would be able to count their losses and find new paths, eventually. They are both very bright. They will have no trouble being successful in whatever they set out to accomplish. Especially if... Maddie were to become my wife someday.

But there is more to this than just us trying to save our own skin. If there really is something dead wrong here, something dangerous, something that has been festering for decades, maybe has the power to grow stronger, don't we owe it to ourselves to do what we can to try and find a way to stop it and prevent more casualties from occurring?

There was once a time in my life, and that time was actually only several days ago, when I would have just said: "Screw this. I'm looking out for my own butt. This isn't worth it. Goodbye." But my whole world has changed lately. My way of looking at everything is different now. I no longer think the same. I no longer feel the same. I've been trying to place my mark on this world out of some sense of primal need, thinking that if I could just make my name well known and have people remember me, it would give me meaning and purpose, and I would feel completely fulfilled. But it never did. I just kept building more and more and acquiring more and more, never satisfied, never ending.

But I don't want any of these things anymore. I want Maddie. I want to make my mark on this world in a completely different way. Maybe, instead of working so hard at making myself into somebody rich and famous, this is my chance to do something more. To save the world. Even if nobody knows that I did it, I think that would be far more fulfilling than the path I've been taking thus far. Tomorrow is going to be an interesting day. I just hope it isn't our last.

**June 8, 12:16 PM**

The keys to all the guest's rooms have apparently vanished long ago along with their owners, but luckily, there were plenty of spares in the manager's office to go around. And that's how our morning has gone so far. Each of us taking a different floor, grabbing a handful of keys, and going methodically through each of the rooms all the way up to the 30th floor. It took a lot longer than you might think, and was also a lot more tiring, BUT our work managed to pay off. There were two different rooms where their respective keys did not work, 1416 and 1723. We tried every spare we had, but these keys were apparently not made for these particular rooms. We found our jackpot.

Here's where it gets frustrating: We can't get in. You'd THINK that it would be as simple as just breaking down the doors, but oooohhhh no. Mr. Tipton was a lot smarter and _more_ eccentric than I think even the over-embellished media gave him credit for. I took an axe to that _wooden _door, giving it the hardest blow I could muster, it went right through the wood... and struck metal. The wood was a fake. The actual door, and the walls of the whole room, were made of metal. The wood was put over the metal, apparently, to disguise the rooms so they could pass off for normal. When I tried the axe anywhere else, it went straight through wood to metal. I went into 1415 and tried to break through the wall there. Metal. I felt it should be necessary to at least give 1417 a go, and wouldn't you know it, fricking _metal. _I went up to 1723 to give it a go. I was not surprised at all when my axe went through the door and also struck metal. Our potential salvation, ladies and gentlemen, and we have no possible way of breaking through.

Oh, we could get in if we found the keys, for certain. But how much you want to bet that Mr. Tipton had them on him when he vanished? And somehow, I would be surprised if there were spares lying around in any sort of obvious location. Sure, maybe there ARE some. But we are talking about a guy who forges names on a register, has rooms with metal walls and doors disguised with wood, a bunch of keys for the doors that are non-working decoys... oh, yeah. We're screwed.

**June 8, 1:32 PM**

We searched Mr. Tipton's room again from top to bottom with no avail. The most likely place those spares could be is in the basement. It is documented that Mr. Tipton was an amateur photographer and inventor, and had a special room in the basement where he developed his photos and tinkered with stuff. We found it, but wouldn't you believe it, there isn't even a handle or a fricking keyhole on the door!

Trevor found a box that looked like one for a circuit breaker, but when he opened it up, there were a whole bunch of buttons with all sorts of different pictographs and symbols on them. Trevor figured it was some sort of elaborate lock Mr. Tipton had created. Punch in the solution, and the door opens. The buttons were arranged in five rows of six buttons per row. Thirty buttons in all. Impossible to figure out by a randomly punching buttons and guessing. And without Mr. Tipton around to provide the combination, we find ourselves once again completely and royally screwed.

Trevor had hope that the combination was hidden somewhere in the hotel. After all, if Mr. Tipton knew the extent of the danger he had been facing, it stands to reason he would have had to assume that maybe, just maybe someday someone else would have to come along and finish his work. Surely he would have hidden the combination somewhere for a few desperate souls to find!

Maddie suggested that maybe each button corresponds to a floor, and by revisiting all 30 floors and keeping our eyes peeled, _maybe _the solution might prevent itself. But that is a pretty big if, and we could kill an entire day chasing a theory which might ultimately prove futile. We decided to poke around the basement further just in case we might stumble onto something down there that might help us. I don't know if what we found next is capable of helping us, but by God, it sure is _something._ Trevor found a piece of stone that looked oddly cut, and when we took a crowbar to it, we found a secret underground passage! It took us down quite a ways, deep under the hotel. It was a spiraling stone stairway. There was a very ancient feel about the whole thing. I honestly don't think the stairs or the chamber we found were put here when the hotel was built. Rather, I think they stuck the hotel right on top of it.

The stone stairs ended in the small chamber, which was about the size of a room. What was in the chamber was very shocking. It was some type of tall, thin stone. There are twelve holes in the stone, set going down in a zig-zag sequence, with a lines carved going hole to hole, like a sort of primitive connect-the-dots. Trevor shined his pen light into the holes and found that each hole had some sort of symbol inside. I'm not sure what the symbols were written with, but it was weird, when the light was shining on them, they seemed almost to glow, as if some magic incantation had been put on them so that they might be seen clearly. At least, that's how I felt. But I actually got a bit of a shock, because I recognized one of the symbols.

It was the one that I had written down on paper, the one that had appeared when the theodolite was messing up and I thought it was just glitching. Come to think of it... KARS... that strange word that had suddenly appeared in my head and wouldn't leave me alone. Could that be the name of the symbol? KARS? And what of the other symbols? What were their names? Did this monolith hold any kind of special significance to our plight? Looking up at the stone and taking it all in, I felt a strange sense of peace washing over me that I cannot explain.

This thing must be real old. Like, long before America was even settled, maybe. Cody would get a kick out of this. I've been thinking about him a lot, lately. I haven't really been a very good brother, and I know it. I've barely spoken to him since we went our own separate ways, I've _wanted _to, but... I just can't ever bring myself to pick up the phone and call him. I know he resents me. The fact that he resents me hurts, somewhat. Because I became successful, and, well, I know he's been through a real tough time lately. But I just feel like there is nothing I could say to him that would help. We always were opposites. I wonder if it was made worse because we are twins? I know it has to be aggravating, because of me, who spent his years as a teenager aspiring to nothing, and stumbled onto my niche and gained everything, and he, who aspired to everything, poured his life into his dreams, and, well... what do you say to someone like that?

I know he always resented me even when we were kids. I was the one who was always the "cool" one and made friends easily, got all the chicks and knew what to say and do in any social situation. I was really happy for him when he got married, I had been kind of worried he might get a significant way through life before he found anyone, if anyone at all. I also think I, secretly, took it about half as hard as him when I found out they were getting a divorce. I want to call him now, divulge everything that is happening here, and see if he has any suggestions. He was always a lot sharper at stuff like this. If he were here, he could see about ten different solutions that we couldn't in a heartbeat. But, at the same time, I don't want to bring him into this. If we fail, I want him to live a happy life. If we are to disappear soon, I hope he doesn't come here looking for me.

**June 8, 2:35 PM**

Trevor copied all the symbols down. I told him about 'KARS', and he copied it down next the symbol, just in case it has any relative meaning. We are searching all the floors. We have no choice. We have to find the solution to that code. So far, nothing. Not even a hint. Darn it, what are we missing? Why does everything have to be so damn complicated? We are running out of time. I know it. I can see the shadows. They are everywhere now. Every minute I turn, I swear I can see them. While searching the rooms, I can feel presences. Like, I keep turning and expecting to see someone standing next to me, but there's no one there. I swear a few times I even started talking to people that weren't really there, because I felt so certain that there was someone in there with me.

**June 8, 2:55 PM**

Found something interesting, room 1675. The register says it was occupied by a 'Jonathan Crowshaw'. There are a number of Celtic crosses drawn all over the walls, the door, and the ceiling. Someone cut up the carpet, too. Cross shapes were cut out, and the carpet itself that had been cut out was arranged on the parts of the floor that had not been cut. Trevor was covering this floor earlier, not sure why he didn't say anything about it, surely he would have seen it. Anyways, the one part of the wall that doesn't have any crosses has it written in big, bold letters: 'STAY OUT!'. It's possible that Jonathan Crowshaw could be a pseudonym for Mr. Tipton, but it's hard to say for certain. There's really nothing else in the room except for a small travel bag. If Mr. Crowshaw was a guest, he packed light.

**June 8, 3:30 PM**

Jonathan Crowshaw was indeed a real person, as a website devoted to the Tipton confirms. There is very little known about him, only that he was a loner estranged from his family, and a bit of an eccentric recluse. There is nothing more. So, all in all, yet another dead end. Maddie and Trevor have been experiencing the same supernatural phenomenon that I have, only even more so. Doors opening and closing by themselves, sounds of footsteps with nobody there, lights starting to flicker on and off... it's starting to turn into a regular house of horrors here! Trevor remembered that he has these goggles, they are supposed to function similar to nightvision goggles, except they are specially designed to pick up traces of ESP. Or so the box they came in claims. He isn't sure where he put them, so he's off trying to find those. The next thing Maddie wants to try is the Ouija board. We're out of options, so why not? Maybe if we could get some sort of contact with a spirit or two, maybe even Mr. Tipton himself, we could get some sort of solution. God, I can't believe I'm writing about Ouija boards and spirits with a serious face.

**June 8, 6: 35 PM**

Trevor is missing. Maybe not for certain, the hotel is far too big to be certain of anything of the sort just yet. He was supposed to meet us, though, back in the lobby when he found the goggles, but he hasn't shown up. He isn't in the room he was staying in, he isn't in the office where him and Maddie have set up shop, and he isn't out by the van. We have been searching for him for hours, calling out, checking all floors, checking the facilities on the ground floor, the hotel grounds themselves, the basement, the chamber, and even my cabin. He just simply isn't here. I'm not ready to give up or accept that he was another victim of an already ridiculously long list; I'm still going to keep hope that he will turn up. It would be useless to call the police, they would just make up some excuse as to why they couldn't show up, or just tell us to double check everything again. It's all so frustrating! Maddie and I are going to proceed with the Ouija board without him.

**June 8, 9:25 PM**

Maddie had set up the Ouija board in the study and dimmed the lights. No sooner had she put her hands on the board when it started to move. She claimed for sure she wasn't moving it at all. She asked it;

"Are you a spirit?"

The pointer went to 'yes'.

"What is your name?"

'Thomas Oliver.'

"Are you dead?"

A silly question to be asking a ghost, to be sure, but it was a valid one since it was unclear as to what was behind the disappearances. The curser went to 'yes'.

"Did you disappear along with the others?"

No answer.

"How did you die?"

'Darkness.'

"Are there others there with you?"

'Yes.'

"Is Mr. Tipton there?"

'Yes.'

I think a chill went up both of our spines at the answer, even though it was not of any particular surprise.

"May we speak to him?"

No answer.

"Tom, are you still there?"

'Yes.'

"Can we speak to Mr. Tipton, please?"

'No.'

"Why not?"

'Darkness.'

"Can we speak to anyone else?"

'Darkness'.

"Why can we speak to you but no one else?"

Silence. Then...

'It wants you to know it has Trevor'.

Maddie gasped and her hand flew off the pointer. That had been unexpected. She was unnerved, but I gave her a sharp look that prompted her to continue. She put her hands back on the pointer, her voice quavering as she spoke.

"Can... can we speak to Trevor, please?"

Silence for about ten seconds. Then...

'Maddie?'

"TREVOR! Where are you? What happened?"

'Darkness.'

"Trevor... are you... are you dead?"

'Yes.'

I don't think there is any way to describe what both of us were feeling at this point.

"Trevor, what is causing all of this? What are we up against?"

'Darkness.'

"This darkness, is there any way to stop it?"

'Get out. Save yourselves.'

"How come it got you, but not us yet?"

'Weak'.

"If it's weak, does that mean there is a way to stop it?"

Silence.

"Trevor?" Then...

'Stay put'.

Maddie looked confused.

"That's not Trevor anymore I said."

She yelped and pulled her hands off the curser. It started moving on its own...

'ZACK. MADDIE. CODY.'

"We have to get out of here, NOW." I commanded.

She needed no further prompting. We jumped up and bolted for the front door, when suddenly, I stopped dead in my tracks and halted her.

"Wait!" I said.

There was something... odd about the doors. As I was looking at them, I swear the color in the whole area started to just get darker and darker. It wasn't another shadow, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't a trick of the light. In fact, I know it wasn't, because I could see the look in Maddie's face too.

"If we go running out the front door, I think we're dead." I said.

"How are we going to get out?" She said.

"Find another exit?"

"No. Not now. I have an idea. We're going to hide in room 1675. Run."

We bolted. She didn't question me for a second. We have now taken refuge in here, in this room with all these crosses drawn everywhere. I know what I'm thinking is probably really stupid and won't work, heck, holing up in this room will probably kill us for sure, but, maybe it will keep it out. I mean, in mythological lore, crosses work against vampires and demons, right?

Two more things I used to not believe in but am not quite so sure now. I think maybe Jonathan Crowshaw was thinking the same thing. Eccentric, perhaps, but that may just have been the aspect of his personality that caught on before the other guests, along with Mr. Tipton, that there was something heavily amiss at this place. I wonder how long he was able to hold out? Did he finally brave venturing out, making a break for it, only to get himself caught in the end? Or did... oh, crap. There's something outside the door. Gotta go.

**June 8, 10:45 PM**

I could see the edges of the door beginning to darken. There were whispers outside the door. Thousands, sounded like. Many voices, all speaking in unison. They were loud. But whatever was outside the door never came in. It moved. All around the outside of the perimeter of the room. I heard the door open to the room to the right of us. Heard the whispers following into the room. It moved all around the perimeter of the wall. Then it shifted. I could hear it moving past our door, another door opening, and then it was in the room to the left of us. After another few minutes, it left. Five minutes later, we heard it again, this time apparently in the room directly above us. Thousands of whispers, moving along the whole edge of the ceiling. Then it disappeared again. As per my next guess, we then heard it again several minutes later. This time it was in the room below us. It passed. We haven't heard anything from it for awhile now. I'm not sure if it was the crosses that worked, but I think it was. I wish Jonathan Crowshaw was around so I could thank him. It's probably hiding somewhere now, and it will probably stay hidden until we dare to venture out. Then it will descend upon us and we will become just like the rest. I'm not sure what the plan is going to be for now. We don't have any food or working water in here. We can't stay holed up here for any decent time. Eventually we are going to have to make a move. But what to do?

**June 9, 12:10 AM**

We decided to take refuge in our safe location for now and get some rest. If we are to try anything in the morning, we need to be clear-headed and refreshed. Maddie asked if she could make love to me. I was stunned at such a random proposal in the midst of such a dire situation, but I think I know why. We aren't sure if we are going to be able to make it through tomorrow. I accepted, but not out of lust. It was way different than its ever been with anyone else. This wasn't just two people bumping out of lust, which was the only way I had once equated sex. This was different. It was a connection of two souls, of two people who were made for each other since the dawn of time finally becoming one. I felt like a virgin again, and indeed, I think I was. I realized for certain, as we were doing it, that Maddie was my first and my last. I will never find another like her.

**June 9, 8:45 AM**

All is calm and peaceful. The sun is shining outside, there are only a few clouds in the sky. Upon waking, you would think everything was just fine, that nothing was amiss, that the events of the past week were all some sort of strange nightmare that never really happened. Except, looking over at Maddie, sleeping right next to me, it would not have JUST been a nightmare, it would have also been the best dream of my life. Whether it had all been real or fake was bittersweet either way. Either there is no nightmare and no Maddie, or there is the nightmare and there is Maddie. Maddie is still here, so we must now contend with the nightmare.

Our plan is about to begin. It is a simple plan, and from the moment it begins it will be over in about 10 minutes. It could also be our end. But we have to get out of here. Staying together is not an option. Based off the way it acted last night, I think its safe to say that whatever this thing is, its not omnipresent. It can only be in one location at a time, and we simply have to avoid running straight into it. But our only chance that at least one of us will survive is if we split up and take two different routes. We have mapped it out. There are several different stairwells, each of us will take a different one. If we run into anything unusual, we run away and take a different route. On the ground floor, each of us will shoot for a different exit. Then it's just a matter of running through the Ghost Zone and making it past the perimeter, and not even stopping then. But I think if we can get past the perimeter we will be home free. God, I pray this works. I mean, I hope I am able to save my skin, but... I'm scared to death of losing Maddie. To finally find a true happiness, something I've been searching for all my life and never known it, and then to lose it abruptly, will be the most horrible feeling in the world. But we have no choice. It's now or never. Our operation begins in a few minutes.

**June 9, 9:16 AM**

The operation is a bust. I'm holed up in my trailer right now. I don't know if Maddie made it. I would doubt it. I would hope she is quick enough to see it and get away. I don't know if that thing is capable of taking different forms, or just splitting itself into pieces, but it's a lot more formidable than I first imagined.

I sent Maddie on the route out the back exit; I was going to take the lobby, I figured that would be the most likely exit it would anticipate, and I wanted to make myself more the target. I made it through the lobby and out the door without much incident, and sprinted straight for the border. I'm not sure if it was a sort of premonition or just simply paranoia that caused me to look back, but it was apparently a good thing I did. It was very hard to see, but it appeared to be some sort of shadowy thing. It was like it was there, but it wasn't. It was running straight at me at a fierce speed, and I knew that it would catch up with me in seconds, so I quickly turned and made a beeline for this trailer.

I locked the door, fished out a black marker from my desk, and quickly drew a cross on the door. I was fishing out some duct tape when the pounding started. A similar type of pounding as the other night, but time there was an otherworldly demonic shrieking. I took the duct tape and quickly ran strips vertical and horizontally to make crosses over the windows. I've since been covering the walls, ceiling and floor in crosses the same way that Jonathan Crowshaw did. It's funny. Only last week if I had seen that room I would have thought Jonathan a certifiable loony. I guess I am officially now, too. I dare not leave this trailer. I have some food, water, and beer in here, enough to last me for a while. I'm going to give a call to Cody, explain everything. I'm not sure if he will believe me, but he has to know to stay away from this place and not come looking for me. Realistically, I don't think Maddie is going to make it, and I don't think I'm going to make it in the end, either. I should feel sad, but I feel oddly content with my fate. My life never amounted to much, anyways. The success and fame that I've had these last few years just doesn't seem very important anymore. I'm sorry for everything, Cody.

(4)

It ended there. Cody switched the PDA off an pocketed it. He barely noticed that tears had come into his eyes.

So, it was all real.

He couldn't believe it. Didn't want to believe it. All this...

Maybe the PDA was part of the prank too. Maybe this was still the endgame of all pranks.

But, he just didn't think so. He believed. Something horrible had happened here. What, he was not sure. He believed Zack was dead.

If this was a prank, he didn't care anymore now. He would welcome it. The situation had finally gotten to him. He just wanted to see his brother again, see that he was alright.

He sat down against the bed, put his face in his hands, and cried.


	8. Zack and Cody

**Chapter 6 **

**Zack and Cody**

It was true. He resented Zack. He had already stewed about it a hundred times over.

But hearing the whole thing from Zack's point of view...

He had never known his brother had felt that way. He had really, genuinely thought he didn't care.

He had always been angry because his brother would never call.

But now he had to find himself pointing the finger in the opposite direction. He wished fully, now, that _he _had been the one to pick up the phone.

He wished he could do it right now. Pick up the phone, dial Zack's number, tell him that he didn't resent him anymore, that he loved him and wished they could hang out sometime and reconnect again.

But that was over now and he _knew _that it was over.

As a kid, his brother had angered him with all the pranks and teasing. But he had also looked up to his brother. He knew that Zack had always had his back. He knew that he didn't have to worry about much of anything as long as Zack was there.

But Cody was also not like Zack. Zack was much better than him. Zack always knew all the cool kids, never had trouble making friends, got all the dates, cruised through life, nothing ever seemed to get to him.

Cody was the socially awkward geek. He was never really that great at connecting with other people, had few friends, and if he did, they were pretty much always more acquaintances than friends.

He had relatively few dates throughout his teenage years, and always felt he had to bust his butt for everything he got.

He looked up to his brother, but deep down inside, he wanted to _be _his brother. That was probably why he had become a dating fiend when his short term marriage to Barbara ended.

In the depression of watching his dreams of a happy, normal life slip away, he saw Zack, with all the money, fame, and women, and became jealous. He went around with an unusual new boldness, became a dating monster, picked up chicks and took them home on his nights off. It was about trying to make Barbara jealous, but it was also about obtaining even just a fragment of the life he felt had been denied him.

Zack and Cody had been drifting further and further apart since they got to college. Zack reveled in his new social life, and Cody felt forgotten and abandoned. Cody had wanted to imitate Zack's example then, but it was just not him.

Zack was always hanging out with this or that friend, or dating this or that chick, and they never hung out anymore. They were close their entire lives before, what with traveling the road so much and being homeschooled. People came and went in their lives, but it was always a guarantee that they would be there for each other.

But suddenly, there was no need for him in Zack's life anymore. There was no time for him. They never hung out anymore. Sure, it wasn't like Cody ever actually ASKED Zack if he wanted to hang out, but Cody had always felt like he shouldn't have HAD to ask for anything. After all, if his brother really valued their relationship, wouldn't he have tried to maintain it anyways?

From Cody's viewpoint, it was rejection. The worst possible rejection. He felt unimportant. Worthless.

He kept this all bottled up inside.

In his anger, he decided that he was going to work even harder, and when college finally ended, he was going to go his own way and let Zack go his own. Wherever Zack went, he was going to go in the opposite direction and move far, far away.

If Zack wanted to nothing to do with him, then Cody was going to give him his wish. Heck, nobody else wanted much else to do with him either, so screw them all.

He was going to take his degree, make himself a successful doctor, get married, and show the world that he didn't need anyone else to be happy.

That had been the only reason he had proposed to Barbara. They had actually been going out off and on throughout the four years of college, she had really been the only girl he could get.

They had not been passionately romantic (though he had convinced himself they were), but the day before graduation, in his passionate anger, he had taken his one opportunity that he felt he might never have again and proposed.

Zack had seemed genuinely happy for him, much to his surprise, even going all out for his bachelor party.

But Cody remained dead set on living as far from Zack as possible. And he did. It was a bit of a roller coaster ride from that point on. Graduation came and went, his wedding came and went, and about the time he was riding off on his honeymoon, he was working on getting a place in New York and applying for work.

Zack STILL had no idea what he was going to be doing with his life. To him, college had been nothing more than an obligation from their parents and a social club. Zack went off to crash with their dad for awhile till he got a job and "figured something out".

He remembered the day they officially parted ways. Him still in his tux, and Barbara in her white wedding gown, getting prepared to take off for the blissful honeymoon in Hawaii in their limo that was taking them to the airport, with white chalk crudely drawn all over it announcing that they were 'JUST MARRIED!' and dragging those stupid cans on strings behind it.

Zack had not really said that many words to him that day, though he had been the life of the party the night before and acting like his best buddy. The following day, in contrast, had been pretty much all business.

He had been thinking for quite a bit about what might be said when they finally parted. Maybe they'd have one last decent conversation, a hug, promises that they would always be there for each other...

Zack had simply given him a handshake, a pat on the back, and said: "Well, good luck, man!"

That was it. Nothing more was exchanged. Cody got in the limo and scarcely saw his brother again.

It put a bit of a damper on the trip; Cody was deeply troubled by that last exchange. As far as he was concerned, in his mind, it confirmed everything that he had suspected all along.

Zack didn't care all that much about him. Even though they had spent their entire lives together and once done almost everything together meant nothing now.

It was going to be from now on just like he had never existed. Maybe he wished he never had.

Well, that was fine and dandy.

On the plane trip to Hawaii, Cody decided, instead of letting it get to him, he was going to relish it. He was married, he had his diploma (even if it wasn't from the school and degree he would have preferred it to be), had his whole life ahead of him, had proven he could do the impossible by getting himself a woman, the sky was the limit!

Cody was going to start life off fresh, be real successful, and Zack would probably move on to being a deadbeat, mooching off their parents, mooching off other people, hopefu... probably getting busted for drugs or something and in and out of jail.

_We'll see how Mr. Cool and Too Good For His Own Brother does when he turns out to be the loser he is and I rub my success right in his face!_

Cody's rage had kinda abated when Zack actually called in the middle of their honeymoon to see how he was doing, and Zack himself was doing great and he had met this guy named Lenny, and they had this idea for this business deal they were working on involving themed nightclubs, and Cody thought it was the most gimmicky and stupidest idea he had ever heard, but he pretended to wish his brother luck anyways, secretly looking forward to when it fell through, like all the other stupid gimmicks his brother was likely to try throughout his life that would fall right through, but at the same time feeling kinda happy that Zack had at least called to check up on him.

Six months went by and Zack never called again. The next time he saw him was when the family was getting together for Thanksgiving, and Zack's nightclub idea actually _was_ starting to take off, and by that point, Cody's marriage had already started getting well on the rocks, and he had nothing of worth to rub in his brother's face.

Zack, on the other hand, was getting a touch arrogant. Cody thought he had never willingly see Zack dress up in his life. He had also acquired a beard, part of the new 'successful businessman' look he decided he now wanted to project.

Cody and Zack had not talked much. They had a few minor conversations, general shooting the breeze, but nothing was said about how long they'd been apart, or how they never talked much anymore, or how they missed each other. Zack had asked Cody a few questions about how his career was going, and Cody was one of several doctors at a minor emergency clinic, and it made him feel like an ass compared to how Zack was going ON and ON about how well his business was doing, with all of his wild stories of parties and women, and the event recently where he had gotten mistaken for a rival drug dealer and a whole bunch of gang members showed up at the club, and everyone's lives had been in danger, and how the cops had shown up and there had almost been a shootout...

The most exciting thing in Cody's life was getting off work, watching discovery channel, and getting sex from Barbara a few times a week. If she felt like it.

Zack trying to amuse everyone with his idea for when he started REALLY taking off and he was going to model a club off the "Best Little Whorehouse In Texas", and Cody explaining to various people who asked that he was just "taking things slow right now" and he was eventually planning on working at a major hospital.

He felt like SUCH an ass.

That was the night he started turning truly apathetic. And as he shuffled lower and lower into mediocrity and unfulfillment, and Zack rose higher and higher, Cody working his ass off day in and day out to make ends meet, Zack getting everything because he just happened to luck into it, that ungrateful wench filing for divorce and taking HIS house and immediately acting like he never existed, that he never meant anything to her, and suddenly he was truly and completely all alone in the world, and so he had started acting out and chasing women, trying to become something else, trying to be more like Zack in hopes that maybe somehow he would change and things would start to turn around, but he WASN'T Zack and could NEVER be like Zack, and so he started becoming more apathetic and despising Zack more.

Cody ended up losing all his ambition, surrendered, stopped trying, accepted his fate, and slumped into mediocrity and his unfulfilling life. Then one day he saw on the news, Zack was building a nightclub right on the grounds of the Ghost Zone of Boston where the Tipton was slated to be demolished, and he had found himself feeling surprisingly scared.

Of course, he had figured it out now, sitting here in this whacked out trailer, with crosses on the walls, crosses on the ceiling, crosses on the door, duct tape shaped like crosses on the window, crosses cut out of the carpet and the pieces arranged into crosses themselves, along with Zack's messy desk with all those inane action figures sitting on them... he realized the real reason why he had felt that fear.

Deep down, he subconsciously loved his brother and always would. It was one of those things that you could try and try to remove and repress and not feel, but it was always there, no matter how enraged he was at Zack, or resentful of Zack, or how much he felt like he never wanted anything to do ever again with Zack.

It was also because he still felt like he didn't matter. He WANTED Zack to reach out to him. It was his DREAM to have Zack reach out to him. To tell him that he DID matter, that he WAS important in his life. Not just riding the wave of his success and pretending like he never existed.

If anything were to ever happen to Zack, that aspect of him that desperately needed to be filled wouldn't be.

That was why, when Zack had left that voicemail, he had packed up right away and headed down here, bringing his feelings of anger, resentment, fear, and his need to validated as important.

And now he's here, and he finds out that his worst nightmare has come true, that Zack _is_ probably gone for good, and his brother DID care about him, and the only reason that he had not called all this time because he KNEW Cody had feelings of resentment against him, and HE was feeling a bit upset by this, but not knowing what to do about it, and he had actually been wishing him the best of luck and felt sorry there wasn't anything he could do for him...

The realization that it hadn't really been Zack that had been pushing Cody away all these years, but Cody himself, and Cody was to blame, and no one else but Cody, it was all too much for him to take, and now Zack was probably dead, there was no hope that any of this would ever be reconciled, and it was all the fault of that THING whatever that freaking THING was that had taken his brother away from him and shattered the last hope Cody might have ever had for a better life, same cycle as always, everything always slipping away from him, never being able to hold onto anything, tasting happiness, tasting it for only a short period of time and then having it ripped away from him, and that that THING whatever it was that was running around this hotel that had taken the last and only good thing in Cody's life, was now going to PAY and PAY dearly and so help him God when he set foot out of this cabin it was gonna be...

Cody lifted his tear stained face from his lap. Before where there had just seconds ago been hysteria and brokenness, was now a look of sheer rage.


	9. Making a Plan

**Chapter 7**

**Making a Plan**

(1)

Cody SHOULD have been feeling fear. It would have been the logical way to feel when you are all alone at night in a place where God-knows-what ghouls and demons were running around and they had already

_devoured?_

hundreds of people including your own brother, and the longer you stayed you were in mortal danger...

But screw it.

He didn't care any more. He wasn't afraid of this thing, whatever it was. Maybe if had a real life to go back to, and a wife and a brother, survival would have mattered more to him, but no.

He had lost everything.

'It' had taken the very last of what he held precious. He was not afraid of this thing. He was going to make it pay.

He knew he was probably outmatched and outclassed, but that didn't matter now. He wanted to at least try and do whatever it took, if it was even the slightest bit possible, to exact vengeance and make this thing scream.

He would probably die tonight, but big deal. His life was worth nothing anyways.

With a type of newfound resolve that surprised and even scared him, yet a resolve that at the same time he wanted to embrace, he walked over to Zack's desk, grabbed a pen and a legal pad, and dug around through the papers on top of the desk, looking for something specific, until he finally found it.

It was a piece of paper with a strange symbol that looked like a triangle with a cut jutting out the top right side. Cody copied it down onto the legal pad and wrote 'KARS' next to it.

Next, he dug around through Zack's drawers, and lucked out by finding two rulers, one wooden and the other plastic, and he duct taped them together to form a cross.

Then he checked the PDA again, scanned through it, and jotted down room numbers: 1416, 1723, and 1675.

Under 1675 he wrote 'Jonathan Crowshaw' and then 'Safe Zone'.

He flipped the page and then drew 12 large circles, six on each side of the page.

He looked around and spotted a carrying case on the floor. He stuck the notepad and the cross in it and put it on his shoulder.

This thing was going to be a problem if he ran into trouble; if he should encounter 'It' on the way, it would make him run slower, but it was going to be necessary to keep it on him at all times.

_Remember, you're dead anyways._

But there was, indeed, a part deep down among the rage, that he would not identify till much later.

Maybe his life was in shambles and his brother was dead, and he had no further reason to return to life after tonight, but by God, did he really seriously want to give it a shot.

_Maybe Zack survived anyways._

There was, after all, no solid PROOF that he had not gotten away. He probably didn't, but Cody could always hold out some small hope.

_And if he did, now look at you. In the danger zone that he never wanted you to come to, putting your life in peril, probably you going be the one to die, and then it will be HIM who has to grieve._

There was a time minutes ago when Cody would have WANTED Zack to have reason to grieve.

But he also remembered Zack's resolve. How Zack had WANTED to find a way to stop this madness, how Zack had _!HAD FAITH! _in Cody that he would have been a much better candidate at solving this puzzle.

It was this that gave him strength, and he found himself able to push his grief back, take back control, clear his head a little bit, and to be able to push out his internal emotions and shelve them for thinking about later if or when this was all over.

He headed over to the door, and without even an ounce of hesitation, he stepped out into the pitch black of the night.

(2)

He kept his flashlight off.

This 'thing' operated in the darkness. He would operate in the darkness, too, for now.

He wouldn't give off his position so easily. He kept his eyes and his senses peeled for anything even the slightest out of the ordinary.

His first mission was to find the circuit breakers and see if he could get the power back on.

He kept his senses on high guard. There was no noise except for the hum of the city life around the perimeter of the Ghost Zone, everybody going about whatever it was that people in the big city did this ungodly late.

His eyes darted around the landscape. He was more alert and paranoid of everything than he had ever been in his life. He was specifically listening for any tell tale noise of anything that might be making noise behind him. A few times he would turn around abruptly, as if he expected to catch something in the act making its way behind him, perhaps a "shadow man" running up after him, intending to do to him God-knows-what.

He made his way to the hotel, walked around to the right side, and all the way around the perimeter to the back. It was a walk, but he finally came across what he was looking for. The circuit breaker box.

He opened it, and found to his surprise that the power had indeed been manually turned off.

For a second he almost reverted back to his elaborate prank theory. After all, it seemed weird that demons would bother to go through the trouble of physically turning the power off.

Maybe Zack and Trevor and Maddie WERE hiding in the hotel, waiting to ambush him.

Maybe the diary in the PDA was all fabricated lies, and when he got in there, he would find out that Zack didn't mean any of it, and that he WAS worthless, unimportant, the butt of the joke, and Zack's all around punching bag.

If such a thing were to happen, he knew for sure that he would never speak to his brother again.

But he really didn't believe that was the case.

Odd. His position had completely reverted since earlier tonight. Before, he had been trying to convince himself that everything was a prank, and not the work of demons or spirits.

But now, he found himself trying to rationalize completely in the opposite direction. He found himself trying to explain to himself how this COULD be the work of demons or spirits.

Case in point: Whatever this thing was loved darkness, maybe was darkness incarnate itself.

It COULD have made an effort to switch the power off. It would not want to dwell in the light for as long as it has to exist here.

Cody wondered: did he come up with that explanation because he really believed that there was something dangerous and supernatural going on here, or because he finally received the validation of importance indirectly from Zack?

No matter. He was not going to let himself think on it too much. He had a mission to complete. And he was going to see it through as long as he could.

There were three levers, and when he pulled them, the whole place lit up like the Christmas Tree in Times Square on Christmas Eve.

(3)

Cautiously, eyes still peeled, he walked back around to the front door and entered the lobby.

For a second, he thought the place was alive. Yet it was completely empty and lifeless.

But in look only; it FELT alive. As if there were guests all around him, bellboys running too and fro with luggage, the concierge at the desk taking calls and helping customers, an empty counter for selling gifts or... no, candy. It was a candy counter. And there was someone at the candy counter, and there was a line of mostly kids, some adults, and everything was festive, like there was some big party going on or about to happen, and the energy of the excitement was such that it grabbed onto you and you wanted to be excited too, and all of this was taking place right there in the lobby, right now, except it really wasn't, you could see that nothing was really there and the place was totally deserted.

_Ghosts?_

Cody wasn't sure what to make of the feeling. Behind the desk was the manager's office, that was where he wanted to head next, but first, he suddenly realized he needed to pee real badly.

_Yeah, great time and place, Cody._

Wouldn't it be a real touch of irony if 'It' got him right as he was letting out a long stream?

Or would he sense it and panic, and start running trying to pull his pants up with piss getting all over him, trying to fish out his cross, his pants going further down his legs, tripping him, and then it was all over...

Cody had always been a worst-case-scenario thinker. As a kid, and pretty much still as an adult, he had always been a constant worry wart.

But nature called, and it was imperative that he heeded it before any more action got under way.

There was probably no running water, but he didn't think anyone would be around to complain. Of course, as alive as the hotel lobby felt, maybe he _would _have an audience. That thought kind of weirded him out.

He entered the restroom and turned on the light switch. Nothing there. Being cautious, he flipped open each of the stall doors. All were empty. However, when he got to the last one, he chanced upon something interesting.

Someone had drawn something on the stall side. It was a crudely drawn box, and inside it, a symbol. It looked like a vertical barbell with two lines drawn in the center. Down below it was written a word: 'LARSUS'.

Cody suddenly had the strange intuition that maybe it had something to do with 'KARS'. There was no way to be certain, and he certainly wasn't sure what it was doing here, but he pulled out his notepad and jotted it down just in case.

Satisfied that the bathroom was unoccupied, he went to the urinal to relieve himself, still keeping his ears peeled for any suspicious noise.

Done with that, he zipped up, turned around, and screamed.

On the mirror, in bright red letters, the words had appeared: 'AND TO HIM WAS GIVEN THE KEY TO THE BOTTOMLESS PIT!'

There was still nobody in the bathroom, but he didn't loiter around. There wasn't time to loiter about. He didn't see anything else around him, nor any indication of something coming to get him, so he decided to push his fear down for now. He left the bathroom and headed straight for the manager's office.

He had almost reached the door when -

_RIIIIIIINNNNNG! RIIIIIIIIIIIIING! RIIIIIIIIIING!_

The sound of the telephone just about made him jump out of his skin.

He stood there for awhile, looking at it.

_Someone else calling the landline? Lenny?_

He ran over and snatched it up.

"Tipton landline, this is Cody!"

No answer. Maybe he had gotten to it too late? He dialed star 69. It got nothing.

Shoot. Maybe the phone stopped working when he picked it up.

He turned and was about to head into the manager's office.

_RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING! RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING! RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!_

Cody ran over and snatched it up again.

"Hello? Tipton landline, this is Cody!"

_"Help us."_

"Uh... excuse me?"

_"Help us."_

_"Yes, help us."_

_"You have to help us."_

_"Darkness."_

_"Come help us!"_

_"Help us, please!"_

There were many voices, one after another, all begging and pleading. But it wasn't a sad, begging tone. It almost sounded... mocking.

_"Cody, come help us."_

_"Cody, please."_

_"We need you to come here with us Cody."_

_"Yes, join us please, Cody."_

A man's voice laughed in the background, a cruel, twisted laugh. Cody slammed the phone down.

_. RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING. RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING._

Cody grabbed the phone right out of the desk where it was connected and threw it on the ground.

Cody was surprised. He had seen no shadow person coming after him. No sudden strange darkness appearing and trying to envelop him.

The only supernatural experiences he was having were the kind of stuff you would expect more from a poltergeist that was trying to mess with him rather than some truly malevolent entity.

Of course, not that he would _prefer _the latter.

Cody entered the manager's office, closed it, and drew a cross on the door.

(4)

The room was small, just enough for the desk that was in it and for getting work done, and not much more. Cody decided to do a quick search through the drawers and the papers on the desk, and he found a map laying out the hotel's ground floor. He noted the route to the basement, rolled it up and stuck it into his pocket, ready to easily grab.

He grabbed spare keys for 1416, 1723, and 1675, pocketed them, and left. The basement was next.

(5)

Cody found the door, the one with no handle, and after a bit more searching, found the box with the odd keypad.

He flipped to a new page on his notepad, and as best he could, quickly copied down the buttons and their respective symbols.

Done with that, he headed over for the section of the floor where the part of the floor had been removed and stone steps descended down into darkness. He had seen it upon first entering the room, it had been right in plain sight.

He went down. It was quite a bit of a walk. He was surely going fairly deep underground. The staircase went down in a perfect spiral.

He wondered how long this had been here. It struck him that Mr. Tipton, or someone, had found this way before the hotel was built. The hotel had been built right on top of it, but the access way had been kept.

Based off of what he expected to see at the bottom, he doubted that Mr. Tipton had built it himself.

Did this go back before America was settled by the English? Maybe the Vikings had built it? Or maybe it went way back farther than that?

Eventually, he arrived in the chamber. There it stood, just as Zack's PDA had described.

Seeing it now suddenly led even more to the validity of Zack's story. If the whole thing was an elaborate prank, this part was most definitely real.

Looking at the stone, Cody felt a remarkable sense of peace. He felt, while gazing up on it, that everything he had come down with, every bit of stress, worry and fear had suddenly evaporated. He felt empowered. Like nothing could harm him here and right now, that everything was going to be alright.

Cody fished the penlight out of his pocket and went over to examine the holes.

He could see the symbols in each hole.

He flipped open his notepad to the page where he had drawn 12 holes and began jotting down each one in order.

In the second hole, he found the symbol for 'KARS'.

When he got down to hole number 8, he was pleasantly surprised to see the symbol for 'LARSUS'.

_So... it WAS significant after all!_

After jotting all the symbols down, he thought for a second.

_Each one of these symbols has a name. Something about these symbols must be heavily significant to this situation. This may have been some sort of sacred or hallowed ground. Maybe this stone has something to do with what is taking place here, but I'm not sure. I don't sense anything malevolent or evil from it. Or maybe this place was made to keep some sort of evil power at bay, and maybe someone messed with something they shouldn't have and let it loose? Maybe this stone, these symbols and their names, hold the key to stopping whatever it is?_

Mr. Tipton may have been trying to find a way to stop it.

Maybe it was him who had scrawled that symbol and its name on the bathroom stall. Maybe he had been trying to find the names of them all. But how were they supposed to be used?

Why did he write it on a bathroom stall, instead of keeping a piece of paper somewhere with all the translations written down, like he was trying to do?

Too many questions, but he was now certain the other translations were hidden in the hotel. He just had to find them all. If he could get into Mr. Tipton's rooms, then maybe he could figure out how to use them.

He needed to go back and check the women's restroom, then do a sweep of every facility on the ground floor. He needed to keep his eyes peeled for more symbols, more hints of their translations, and try to keep an eye out for anything that might hint at the door combination in the basement.

He had a lot of work to do. He just prayed that he wouldn't get caught before it was all said and done.

It started to occur to him at this point that he really WAS living out the role of an adventurer now, just like his video games.

A bizarre mystery, a haunted hotel with cryptic puzzles and symbols and danger...

It was actually the most stimulating experience he had probably had in his entire life. A bit sad, he guessed, but even though he still felt afraid, and angry, he also noted that he felt better than he had ever felt in his entire life.

He put his notepad back in the carrying case and ventured back up from the basement. He was almost back to the lobby when he turned the corner and ran into something.

All he saw was the dark shape of a person, a scream, and then everything went dark.


	10. Interlude B: What Else Cody Forgot

**Interlude B - What Else Cody Forgot**

_He was dying. Worse, he was dying alone. He knew it had been a bad idea to go off on his own. But Zack - Zack had been taking all the glory that should have been his. When their mom had signed them up for this camping trip, Cody had been really looking forward to it. He had read a dozen books on wilderness and survival, and he felt he was sure to shine. He would impress the troop leader with his knowledge of surviving in the wild and his strict adherence to the rules, get noticed, and get promoted up high up the ranks. _

_That was how this trip worked - all the kids were split into 'troops', assigned a basic starting rank, and were 'promoted' based off of variables like teamwork, knowledge of survival skills, and proving oneself. There were awards to be given at the end of the trip based on each kid's final rank, and Cody had thought himself a shoe-in for the biggest prize._

_Except not. Reading books and having knowledge of something apparently didn't denote skill in it._

_He wasn't a bad trooper, and he had gained the first promotion which had made him feel really good, but Zack, who had never willingly read anything in his life, seemed to have a natural skill at just about everything. Five hours and he was already several levels above Cody._

_At some point during the trip, the kid responsible for securing the food up in the trees so wild animals couldn't get to it forgot to do it, and the whole troop found themselves without anything to eat. Zack disappeared off on his own and then showed up thirty minutes later with a whole bunch of fish. He even entered swinging on a fricking vine, with that self-assured, smug look on his face._

_Cody was incensed. He decided that he should be every bit as good as Zack, after all, he had read more, and thought that if Zack could come back with six big fish in hand, then he himself ought to be able to come back with twelve._

_Except he got himself lost. And he couldn't find his way to the river. Nor back at the campsite. He finally got scared enough to swallow his pride and begin yelling out for help. It had started getting dark, and nobody was coming for him, and he could see less and less of where he was going..._

_...and he walked right off the edge of a cliff._

_Tumbling down... down... until his back slammed straight into a rock that was jutting up, and felt himself not just slam INTO it but it was PIERCING through him, and through the shock he could look down and see it coming up through his body and out his chest._

_So here he was, in all his stupidity, lost, alone, at night, dying alone in a pool of his own blood._

_He tried to call out, but it was a very weak cry, and he was unable to muster up anything more._

_This was it. 14 years old and it was already all over. He was going to die. He knew it._

_Would they find his body? Or would it just be left here to rot until it was devoured by some wild animal or something? Maybe a wild animal would show up right now and finish him off while he lied here._

_This was so unfair. He was in the prime of his life. It wasn't fair that it had to be all over with already. He had plans for his life; big plans!_

_He was too intelligent and had so much potential! He still wanted to get into the best college he could and someday make his mark upon the world! He still wanted to show the world that he had value, that he wasn't just Zack's younger brother, but something MORE and something BETTER._

_But now he was going to die and all of this would disappear along with his last breath._

_He was barely aware of the tears that stained his eyes or the blood pooling out of his mouth._

_He weakly turned his head all about him, taking in what would be his last glance in this lifetime._

_He had fallen into a ravine, and he could see cliffs surrounding him on each side._

_The thought he had was instantly strange, but he was going into delirium by this point, and it was normal and acceptable to begin thinking strange things._

I'm in a hole.

_Hole... hole... where had he heard that word before? Somewhere. He was not sure where. But he was sure of it._

_"There is a hole here..." he said to himself, barely aware that the words were coming out of his mouth._

_To 25 year old Cody Martin, who was actually dreaming this at the moment and witnessing it through the body of his 14 year old self, heard it clearly._

_"Even though..."_

_*coughing up blood*_

_"I walk... through the valley of the shadow of death... of the HOLE that I have fallen in... I know you are with me... help me..."_

_Over and over again he began repeating it, softly, and then softer and softer as his body began to get weaker, and his consciousness began to get dimmer and dimmer._

_"Help me... help me... help me... help me... help me... help me... help me... help me..."_

_His hand reached over and grasped a small stone that was next to it. Unconsciously, he took it and began scratching the shape of a cross into the dirt. Over and over again he ran over the pattern, making it deeper and deeper, and started chanting:_

_"Even though I have fallen into the hole in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are always with me..."_

_"Even though I have fallen into the hole in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are always with me..."_

_"Even though I have fallen into the hole in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are always with me..."_

_The cross began to glow. White light sprang up from it and began to illuminate the area._

_Cody looked over at it, in fascination and awe, noticing slightly that he suddenly felt no more pain, though still aware that he was still bleeding to death. Then he turned his head and realized someone was standing over him._

_It was a being. Glowing, radiant light, adorned with a robe that shimmered as if crystal, the hair that moved like fire, the eyes that were empty but intense, as if you were gazing into a furnace._

_Cody felt terrified and relieved at the same time. He also realized that he was surrounded, and there were many of them, all over the place._

_When the one above him spoke, it sounded very far off, almost as if he were half awake and hearing it in a dream. But he was dying, so that was probably normal._

_"It's time to go." The one above him said._

!TIME TO GO!

_Fear welled up in his belly._

_"N... nuh... no..."_

_He tried to say._

_No, no, it could not be time to crossover! Not yet! He wanted to tell the being of light, or angel, or whatever the heck it was that he wasn't ready yet, that he still had so much to live for, that he had still yet to prove himself to his brother, that he still had a mother and father that would miss him very much..._

_"P...puh... puh... please... I don't want to... I don't... I... don..."_

_The being of light looked upon him. It was impossible to tell if it was looking upon him with pity, compassion, or indifference._

_The being didn't move. Didn't try to take him anywhere. Not yet, anyways. It just stood there, unchanging expression on its face, staring down at him._

_"Puh... please... I want to live... I want... give me... second chance..."_

_"You can go to heaven now. You will be granted entry. Later on in life, there is no guarantee."_

_"I promise... I'll always be good... I want to... please give me... one more chance..."_

_There was another one that had come over and was now looking down upon him._

_The first one turned to the second and asked; "What do you think?"_

_The second one looked down and studied him carefully._

_"Some things are worse than hell."_

_Said the first: "Probably."_

_Cody wasn't sure what they meant by that._

_"Please... ...please... I want to live...!"_

_The first reached down to grab him._

_Cody stiffened at the sight of the hand._

This is it! This is the end of everything! Any second now I'm about to be on the other side, and...

_But it didn't happen. A bright light seemed to shoot out of the being's hand, and he felt a FORCE slamming into his body, and suddenly his mind was completely recovered, and he felt FULL and WELL and WHOLE._

_For a second he thought that his spirit had been ripped out of his body, but when the being pulled its hand back, he saw now that that wasn't the case._

_He realized the rock that had impaled him was no longer there. It was completely gone. He was lying only on the flat surface of the ground._

_"This is the last time." It said._

_Cody suddenly wanted to jump for joy, to thank all of them for their generosity, overwhelmed with a sudden zest and love for life and everything!_

_But he didn't. As he rose to stand, he saw all of them still standing around, watching him intently, the same expressionless looks on their faces. He should have been ecstatic, but the way they were looking at him kinda spooked him._

_He had basically come back to life, and yet he could have sworn it felt like he was attending his own funeral._

_The first being pointed towards the top of the cliff Cody had fallen down._

_"Go up. We have given you the strength. Follow the light. Be careful."_

_He nodded in understanding, and was about to start, but then stopped._

_"Be careful of what?"_

_They stood still, silent._

_"Be careful of what?" he repeated._

_"Not just now, but all your life. It's always there. Waiting for you. We tried to save you from it. Today would have been the perfect opportunity. We wish you the best of luck."_

_A chill went up his spine._

_What was it? Save him from what?_

_He looked around at them all, confused and a little worried. The second chimed in, a little nonchalantly, as if he couldn't sense or didn't care about Cody's fear and was just restating this as an afterthought: "Some things are worse than death."_

_"What is 'It'?" Cody asked them. "What am I supposed to be scared of?"_

_"You don't have to be scared of anything if you don't want to. But you should watch out. It wants you bad. It will always be looking for you. For a hole. Stay away from holes."_

_"What are the holes? Where do they come from, and what do they lead to?"_

_"Darkness." Said the second one._

_Chimed in the first, now: "Some things are worse than death."_

_"What's worse than death? Just tell me and I'll make sure I stay away from it! Where are these holes and how can I avoid them? What am I supposed to watch out for?"_

_Silence, then the first one responded again, with yet another cryptic answer: _

_"Dark Fall."_

_Suddenly, they vanished, just like that, all of them at once._

_Cody let the name rest on the tip of his tongue for a second,_

Dark Fall

_and then, in a split second, it was suddenly completely forgotten._

_14 year old Cody did not remember it anymore, and would not remember it for about eleven years later, when he, as a 25 year old, was suddenly re-experiencing this in his 14 year old body and not believing what he was seeing, and would think upon waking that it was just another weird dream, a hallucination, brought on by stress, even though there HAD been a time when he was 14 and had gotten lost in these woods, and he was sure he had stumbled over a cliff at some point, but he had only gotten lightly bruised. He had climbed right back out, and eventually lucked out in finding his way back to the campsite shortly after, but that was it and nothing more. The version that happened in his dream was nothing more than the imaginings of his own mind._

_But back at the present point in the dream, young Cody gazed up the cliff. It was high and steep, and would have been impossible to climb by a 14 year old boy without any ropes, pulleys or any equipment whatsoever. Yet, he found that the moment he grabbed on, he was able to climb up with ease. It was not like he was climbing, but crawling vertically. He even noted to himself that this must be what Spider-Man feels like._

_After he climbed up to the top, he could see a light on the path in front of him. He was not sure where the light was coming from, but as he walked, the light would illuminate the area in front of him and the direction he was supposed to go._

_He walked on, not thinking much of the light but just pressing on. It almost felt like he was having a surreal out of body experience, even though he was here and whole and present. It felt like his mind was on another plane of existence, just a little removed from this one._

_He had been walking for quite a ways when the light suddenly disappeared._

_No, that was not entirely accurate: snuffed out._

_Like a flashlight that had just lost its battery charge._

_He was now in pitch blackness again, surrounded by endless woods on both sides, with no sign of the camp in sight._

_He gazed around confused, but as he suddenly glanced up the path ahead, he could see it, and he knew why the light had gone away._

_It was standing there, all black, in that same weird, crooked pose._

_!DARK MAN!_

_He froze. It just stood there, not moving. Cody didn't move either. He felt that if he took his eyes off it, or moved even just an inch, he would be attacked._

_The angels' gift would have been in vain._

_He opened his mouth, and was shocked at the words that suddenly came out of it:_

_"I defy you!"_

_Suddenly, just like that, the Dark Man vanished._

_And then..._

_"COOOOODDDDY!"_

_A voice. A yell. His name. And then..._

_"COOOOOOODDDDDYYYY."_

_He could see them. Yes, beyond the trees, towards the left... flashlights. They were here. They were looking for him. His heart welled up with joy._

_"OVER HEEEEEEERRRRE!" he yelled._

_He could see the lights headed in his direction, and then was able to make out the face of the troop leader -_

_"HEY GUYS, OVER HERE, WE FOUND HIM!"_

_Soon he was surrounded, and everybody was asking him a thousand questions. Was he hurt? Was he okay?_

_Zack had actually hugged him, and asked him not to scare him like that again. Later, he had to deal with his mom on the phone, she had been hysterical with worry the whole time._

_He assured her that he was okay, he had been fine the whole time, and he thought he really had been._

_He had completely forgotten that he had been on the verge of death, that the only reason he had lived was out of a rare supernatural gift of mercy, that he had gained super strength and climbed out of the HOLE like Spider-Man, and he had seen the Dark Man on his way back and he was supposed to watch out for something called Dark Fall for the rest of his life, and Dark Fall was something that was like death but you didn't go to heaven and it was worse than hell..._

_14 year old Cody Martin forgot all of that and life went on as if nothing significant had happened._

_But 25 year old Cody forgot none of it at all._


	11. London

**Chapter 8 **

**London**

The latter part of the dream had started getting fuzzy, and then started flashing by with highlights of his actual past memory.

At some point he had the sensation of going up... up... until he began to focus and found that he was someplace else, lying on something hard and wooden, smelling something a little horrible, and there was a woman's voice...

It was a fancy dining area. The hard wooden area he was laying on was a bar. The nasty smell under his nose was smelling salts. The woman was, well, he didn't know who the woman was.

It came rushing back to him. This was the Tipton.

He was apparently in the dining room, from the look of it. His mind quickly retraced everything that had led up to this point.

How he was coming down the hall back to the lobby when all of a sudden...

God, his head hurt.

"I am so... so... sorry!" the woman was saying.

"Did I hurt you bad?"

"Oh, God." He said as he sat up rubbing his head.

"What happened?"

"I'm so sorry! I ran into you coming around the corner, and I thought you were... well, never mind what I thought you were, but you took me by surprise, and I took my purse and hit you over the head!"

Sitting up, he took a good look at her. She was Asian, had more of a southeastern Asian look to her. She was wearing clothes and jewelry that looked like they must have cost a small fortune.

"Geez, what do you carry in that purse of yours?" Cody asked, still rubbing his head.

"Just the necessities." she said.

"Do those necessities include a weight made of iron?"

She laughed. "No, but just about everything else."

She fished out something out of her purse.

"Aspirin?"

"Yeah, thanks."

She gave him two, and a half drank bottle of water to put them down.

"So, how did I get here?"

"After I knocked you out, I realized what I had done. I freaked out and brought you here."

He looked her over again. She didn't LOOK like she would have been that strong to be able to pick him up and carry him all the way down here.

"You didn't have to do that. I hope you didn't strain yourself."

"Oh, please." she said. "I may not look it, but I'm a lot stronger than most people give me credit for."

"I'm sorry. I don't think I caught your name."

"London. London Tipton."

"London Tipton?" He asked, incredulously.

"The heir to the Tipton fortune?"

She nodded.

"Yup."

"What are you doing here?"

"I came here... looking for something." she looked down.

His face turned serious and he hopped down off the bar, still wincing at the pain in his head.

"You need to get out of here."

She looked at him, with slightly defensive eyes.

He added: "It's dangerous."

"Because of the thing that swallowed everyone up? I know. The whole family knows. I came here to stop it."

"They know what it is?" Cody half yelled.

"Well, not really, but sort of..."

She dug into her purse and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Look, if I show this to you, you have to PROMISE to not ever bring it to the attention of the media. If you do, it could ruin our family."

"I promise." Cody said. "I'm here on the same business you are. I'm trying to stop it, too. It took... my brother."

She looked at him for a second.

"Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry!"

"Yeah, I am too."

Without and more hesitation, she handed him the piece of paper.

It was a photocopy of what was originally a handwritten piece of paper that was addressed in general to the Tipton family:

_To whom it may concern - _

_Fellow family members who each have a stake in the Tipton empire, I have sent this note out tonight - one copy to each of you - and by the time you finish reading this, you might think me quite mad. I hope you do. I hope nothing at all happens tonight and I am proven to be outright out of my mind, and you are all able to make fun of me, call me names behind my back, and what-not. You must pardon the rushed nature of this letter, but it was only conceived of as an afterthought, and if I felt I had a lot of time left, I would have put far more detail into it. But I don't think I do. _

_It would be impossible for me to go into detail here about what is exactly going on, even though I have kept a special journal somewhere detailing everything. It is of my sincerest hope that this journal is never found, nor its hiding place. But suffice to say that in the midst of this current crisis and the rushed fashion to which I must attend to everything, none of that is immediately relevant at this point anyways. All that I can ask you to do is read the things that I've written down in this letter and try to keep an open mind. There is nothing about this letter that is written in jest or as any sort of a joke. It is entirely of the utmost seriousness._

_It all began on the day we broke ground on this location to put the hotel here. I made a mistake. Indeed, the mistake stretches far back into the past, but this particular day was merely the catalyst to take it into an entirely new direction. What I mean by that I will not be elaborating on. The only thing I have to discuss here concerns the immediate location of this Boston Tipton hotel and its secret: _

_I was well aware from the beginning that I was building on top of some sort of ancient hallowed ground. This was one of the main things that heavily attracted me to the location for my own personal reasons. _

_We were not expecting, though, to find anything of the sort as we did when we tunneled into the ground for the basement, and ended up accidentally breaking through to the temple. A very odd site to see in modern day Boston, well older than the first settlers, no doubt. Maybe even unknown to the present day native Americans of the time! One would wonder why I never notified the American Archaeological Association about such a historical find. Well... I had a reason, and it was not a good one. I shall not elaborate why._

_I paid the foremen extra to keep quiet, to build the basement around it and make a secret entrance in the wall. We also found stairs that led underground into a chamber with a strange large stone, another remarkable ancient piece of work. There are symbols in the holes, and they are significant to our plight. I've cryptically hid the symbols and their 'translations', which I am calling 'lyrics', around the hotel. Many of them are in the hands of guests._

_I can remember them myself, their translations, and the order they go in, but I might not be around for much longer, and they must be available for others to carry on my work should I perish. I had to hide them well, and deceitfully, because It wants to destroy the lyrics. It doesn't want my work to be continued. _

_It isn't yet strong enough to make a move against me, though it may be able to very soon, but It can destroy the lyrics. It has already destroyed the research I was using to find the last one, and I don't think there are many copies of the manuscript left anywhere in the world, and there is no way I would get my hands on another one in time. This is why I cannot go down to the temple to speak the incantation. I've had no choice but to turn to divination, a specific ritual of divining that which is lost that I've set up in one of my secret rooms in the hotel. There are books and notes there explaining how to go about the process of divining the lyric, should you have to. This must all sound very bizarre and insane and nonsensical, I know, but I really don't think we have much time left, and I have to move quickly. _

_Let me just say for certain that I believe I and everyone in this hotel is in grave danger. The 'hole' was black and lifeless when I first set foot in the temple, but now the hole spews a type of putrid evil, maybe from the bowels of hell itself. At first, I only had an inkling as to what it actually was, but I see it now. The hotel is being swallowed by darkness. I see the moving shadows sometimes, sometimes I even see the Dark Man himself, and when I turn a corner, there he is, looking at me with that demonic grin, and I scream and run and I don't see him for some time, but I can sense him, he's always there, watching me. _

_Sometimes the colors in the hotel will take on a greater look of darkness that no one else seems to pay attention to. Other things happen, which are much harder to believe. Like the writing on the walls. This has been seen by several of the staff, though they try to chalk it up to potential hallucination. But I have seen it, and I know it's real. _

_I have also received several strange phone calls recently, phone calls I swear do not come from this world. Sometimes I will hear knocking, no, a pounding on my door and go to answer it, and no one is there. I know what's going on. It's trying to distract me. To slow me down. To make me fear. I have to find all the lyrics and reverse the incantation before it is too late. _

_I am not the only one. There is at least one other guest, a man by the name of Jonathan Crowshaw, he senses the evil too. I have seen it in his eyes. I have seen the way he acts. I have heard him talking with another guest about moving shadows. The guest regarded him with as much fake seriousness as one does a member of the mental hospital who claims to commune with the spirit of Abraham Lincoln on a regular basis. _

_If I am successful, you will not hear anything more about this after tonight. You can think whatever of me you wish. I can handle it. I will be happy with it. If I fail, you will probably see it on the news and know, or at least suspect, that I am speaking the truth. If such a thing happens, do nothing. Don't send anyone else here. Not for at least several years. Don't ever sell this land or let it fall into the hands of anyone else. Wait awhile. Then, maybe, after its power has weakened somewhat, maybe someone can come back here and finish the work. _

_The stone in the basement gives off the sequence. The lyrics are scattered around the hotel based off a list I have provided, but I have been forced to hide and encrypt it. I cannot risk it being destroyed or the lyrics being found. I know, I know. This makes it all the more difficult. Maybe to the point to where it will be almost physically impossible to carry on my work. But I cannot do it any other way. The guests have been instructed to each take a lyric and hide it somewhere. They do not know what is going on. _

_I have scattered decoy versions of the lyrics in obvious places for it to find and destroy, if it should wise up and go looking. I don't suspect that It itself is all there. Maybe It isn't sure of what it is, only that it is darkness, and intends only malice and hatred. I don't think it is even familiar with the symbols or the lyrics, or their purpose, just that they are something that has the power to destroy it. _

_If all the lyrics start coming together, they act as a powerful beacon. It is drawn to the force emanating from the lyrics, when the symbols and translations begin to be brought together. _

_DO NOT KEEP THE LYRICS AND TRANSLATIONS IN ONE PLACE. _

_Commit each one carefully to memory, don't copy them down. Find all the lyrics. Divine the last with the ritual, if you can. I have left books and notes on how you can do so. You need to visit rooms 1416 and 1723. These are my secret rooms that I've been keeping ever since the hotel was built, but you can only find the keys in my secret workroom in the basement. The ones we keep in the manager's office are fake._

_When you have all the lyrics, go through the secret entrance behind the stone wall in the basement. Stand before the hole and utter them, and I think it will seal up. You must accomplish all this before its power can grow. It is a sort of vampire, I suspect. It feeds off the souls of the living. _

_As long as any human being stands foot on this ground, they are already marked and being sucked away, even if they do not realize it. Defeat it before you yourself find yourself pulled into an everlasting darkness from which I suspect there is no escape, even should this thing eventually be stopped. _

_I must go now. The party is about to begin, and I need to try and divine the last lyric before the night is over. Maybe by morning this whole business will be over and there will be nothing to worry about anymore. _

_Oh, you will need the access code to my workroom. The solution is in the dining room, on the tables. Follow numbers 1-8._

_Warm regards, Mr. Tipton._

Cody finished reading it and handed it back.

"So... for all these years, your family knew what was going on here and how to stop it, and they just sat back and did nothing? Worse yet, they actually tried to SELL it?"

"It wasn't really their fault." London said. "The whole family has been as scared as anyone else. This secret has nearly torn our family apart. Plus, how do we know that the what the letter says is what actually happened?"

"So your family is still skeptical?"

"Mmm-hmm." she nodded.

"But nobody ever came by, not even after a few years, to check into the validity of the letter?"

"It was easier to just pretend it never existed. The company has been doing great, everyone has money, why risk your own neck for something that might be dangerous like this?"

"But if they thought it was actually dangerous, why sell it now?"

"Daddy doesn't believe. He thinks his father really DID somehow abduct everyone, or that there was some sort of huge conspiracy, and the other disappearances were just coincidences made more into a media hype. And his philosophy is that if something isn't making him money, it isn't worth holding onto, and if there IS something that can make money, it should be exploited for all it's worth. That was why he approached Zack."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back it up! I thought the Tiptons put it on the market and Zack jumped on it?"

"That was the official story we leaked to the news media. In fact, Zack had made a comment during an interview about a nightclub based off the Tipton hotel which got daddy thinking, and he decided to offer Zack a deal, for a cut of the profits, of course."

"But weren't they demolishing the hotel because they thought it was dangerous?"

"No, daddy didn't think Zack's original idea of putting it inside the hotel would make much money because people would be too afraid. It would be a lot easier to get rid of it and put something new there that people would be less afraid of and attract a lot of customers due to the legend surrounding it."

"So, your father smelled opportunity, Zack smelled opportunity, deals were made under the table, and in the end it was all about money?"

"That's pretty much it."

"Zack..." Cody said with a frustrated voice.

"But daddy didn't believe it was dangerous, and apparently your brother didn't, either."

"But you believe it, and you snuck off by yourself to came here and stop it?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

She looked down.

"For my own reasons."

He had seen her on TV several times before. His main impression of her had been that she was of the rich, spoiled, intellectually challenged brand of human beings on the planet.

She was one of the last of the Tiptons he would have expected to risk her neck in an act of selflessness.

"There's more to it." he chanced confronting her directly with his suspicions.

He caught the look in her face, and though she tried to conceal it, he knew instantly that he had been right.

"No. No there isn't. Would it matter anyways?"

A plea not to dig farther. He decided to let it go.

"I guess not. You have your reasons and I have mine. Mine's revenge."

She nodded sullenly.

"Do you believe?" he asked her.

He caught the look in her face again and she responded; "Yes, I believe."

"Have you seen anything yet since you got here?"

"No, but I can feel it."

No more needed to be said. Cody understood.

"I've seen a few things." Cody said. "I think it's still weak. I was thinking at first that it was some sort of entity that appeared, and when it did, it absorbs you. But I'm beginning to think that's not the case at all. It probably does so slowly. Maybe there is like..."

His thoughts drifted back to his dreams, oddly.

"Another world. Running alongside this one. Sometimes a hole opens up. A connection between this world and that. And whatever comes out of this hole is evil. Whether the hole is created or is just there, I'm not sure, but it can be activated with..."

_His room when he was four. Pentagram drawn on the wall. The words 'THEY LET THEM IN!' scrawled near it._

"...unnatural forces. Black magic, maybe. And when it becomes active, it starts sucking you in. Maybe you aren't even in the real world anymore, but you THINK it's the real world because you've become hypnotized, and the things you see seem to be getting more and more powerful, but you're really just crossing over more and more into their world, until finally you have crossed over just enough, and they are able to physically reach out and pull you in and you are trapped in their realm for good."

_Some things are worse than death._

"You really think that's what happens?"

"Well, based off what I read in my brother's PDA, he'd been keeping a digital diary ever since he arrived here, and the longer he and those ghost hunters were here, supernatural manifestations started getting more and more pronounced until they began to become strong enough to be a threat. There were some pretty tripped out things running around this hotel from the sound of it. There was no way to get away once it had progressed that far. But this wasn't so long ago, and for some reason, you and I are still here, and there has been no sight of the specific dangers Zack described. Perhaps because, maybe we haven't been here long enough yet to begin getting pulled in."

Her eyes brightened up a little bit. "So, you're saying we have days, then!"

"No, I really doubt that."

She looked downcast again.

"Why?"

"Because it has already absorbed several people recently. Remember, the hotel would go for years and years on dry spells with no one disappearing at all. That's because when there is no one to absorb, it gets weak, like you do when you starve yourself for a long period of time. It was really strong at the beginning, because it had a LOT of people to absorb. It's only had about three recently, but it's fed, and it's stronger. We will go a lot quicker. We might have a few days. We might have only tonight. Maybe even only a few hours. Our time may already be almost up."

She looked scared again.

"Does anyone know you are here?"

She nodded her head no.

"Get out. Save your own skin. I'm here now. I can handle this. If I run out of time, there is no sense of us both being lost."

"I can't do that."

"You have to."

"NO!" she half yelled. Cody stared at her.

Tears started welling in her eyes.

"I have to stay... I... I'm on a mission of revenge too."

Cody nodded in understanding sympathy.

"Who did it take?"

"It hasn't fed on three lately, four... one of them shortly before your brother arrived."

"Who?"

"Todd St. Mark."

That answer really threw him for a loop.

"St. Mark? Isn't that..."

"The heir to our rival hotel chain, yes. We met a few months ago. Both of our families happened to be staying at the same resort. We happened to run into each other and hit it off. He was the sweetest guy I had ever met. We've been having a secret relationship since then. We kept it hidden, because there would have been HUGE problems if either of our dads found out. Harold St. Mark is just like my dad, only interested in money. Both would have flipped their tops if they found out. Now, did you see on the news about Todd St. Mark disappearing without a trace?"

"Come to think of it, I think I did see something like that a while back. Wasn't really paying much attention."

"Well, we had fallen in love to the point where we started revealing deep, personal things about ourselves, and... I told him about the family secret."

"Uh-oh."

"Yeah. That was a horrible mistake. He became enraged that such a secret had been kept for such a long time, and that not one of our family had ever done anything to try and stop it."

"So, he believed it without question?"

"He believed it was a possibility that somebody should have looked into a long time ago. He didn't necessarily believe in what the letter said, but he thought if there was any truth to it at all, and that there might have been some way to stop it, it was an outrage that no one had checked on it yet. We got into a huge argument and I was really afraid he was going to break up with me over it. Yes, I will admit, I'm spoiled rotten. I've grown up always getting everything I've ever wanted. I've always cared less about school, and preferred to spend most of my teenage life skipping off to exotic places like Paris or Milan and spending all my time shopping and socializing, but I really loved Todd. And I started feeling..."

She acted like she was trying to think of the word.

"Guilty?"

"Maybe. Maybe a little. I think I was mostly just scared of being broken up with. I was being selfish. But I never expected that he would take off the next morning to come here."

"And you never saw him again?"

"Two weeks went by. The police launched an investigation. They found out that he had gotten a plane ticket to Boston, but they couldn't figure out where he had gone after that. I found his luggage. It's sitting in the lobby."

Tears started coming up in her eyes again. Cody stepped over and hugged her.

"I'm sorry."

"I... I had to keep my mouth shut. I couldn't take the risk of having the family's secret exposed, much less letting it be known that we'd been seeing each other secretly. If I would have become a suspect, there would have been too many questions. They might even have suspected I murdered him or something. A crime of passion involving heirs to rival hotels."

"Plausible theory."

Cody let go. London said,

"I think there is a hole in _your_ theory."

"Oh?"

"About it... pulling you in slowly. I don't think Todd was here for very long."

"How do you figure that?"

"Because, after the night we had the argument, I never heard from him again. He would have called me at some point. He has never gone a day without calling me since we started seeing each other."

"Maybe he was too upset?" Cody tried to ask gently.

"No. He left me a note. He told me where he was going, and said that he wasn't upset with me, and that he would call me later."

She fished out a piece of paper out of her purse and handed it to him.

"He never did."

Todd's letter. Cody skimmed it over and handed it back to her.

"And, remember that kid that vanished a long time ago? John? Jim?"

"Tim? Timothy Pike?"

"Yes, that's the one. Didn't they say he disappeared shortly after he went into the Ghost Zone?"

She was right. That did put a hole in his theory. However -

"You're right. But I just realized something. Both of those disappearances occurred during dry spells, when there had been no disappearances for quite a long time."

She thought about it. "True."

"Maybe Tim and Todd acted as triggers of some sort. The basis of how that works, I'm not sure. But I think _we _might have a little time."

"But if we don't have much, though, we should get to work."

"Right. Though I still say you don't have to be involved if you don't want too. I can handle things on my own."

_Plus, she might slow me down._

"No, I want to come along."

"There is no sense in both of us being lost."

"I have to. It isn't just about Todd. It's about what he said. We Tiptons HAVE been uncaring and selfish. Maybe this could have ended a long time ago. But we just did nothing and let it get this bad until..."

"It took someone you really cared about?"

She looked down at the floor.

"Alright. We'll go together. We stay together. No splitting up. If things start getting screwy, you or both of us go running back to the city. Let it simmer down for a bit. Come back later if we need to. Let's just take this really carefully."

"OK."

"I think if we play our cards right and play this game _very _carefully, we might have a shot."

Cody wondered for a second what might happen to all the souls if they succeeded? Were they really dead, or was it possible for them to come back? Or did they simply go on their respective ways to the afterlife? Cody wished, for his and London's sake, that it might be somehow possible to save everybody.


	12. Cracking the Code

**Chapter 9 **

**Cracking the Code**

(1)

"Okay, our main plan of action is to check out Mr. Tipton's rooms and find that list, then begin trying to find the lyrics one by one." Cody said. "But first things first. That letter said the code to the keypad in the basement was hidden in this room on the tables."

He headed over to the maitre d's podium.

"The correct combination is going to be tables one through eight."

There was a map on the podium listing all the tables. Cody took it with him and walked over to where the designated first table was.

Though the disappearances had occurred during the party of the century, the tables were completely cleaned off.

The dining room and kitchen had probably been taken care of, post investigation. Otherwise this place would be smelling quite rank. And that would probably be the reason.

The tables each had nothing on them but identical red tablecloths. Cody flipped the cloth off table one and checked all around it. No sign of a symbol. Cody bent down and checked under the table. Nothing there either.

Cody stood up and looked perplexed. It had to be there! The letter said it would be there!

"Nothing." He said. London had no response.

He examined the chairs closely. No sign of a symbol on any of them. Why would the letter say it would be here if it wasn't? What else was there to check?

He looked down at the tablecloth. He picked it up and examined both sides. Still nothing.

"This makes no sense." London said,

"It has to be there!" Cody said exasperated. "Maybe it was something like the dishes or silverware was table specific! Maybe since all that was removed now there is no way of finding it!"

Cody checked the map and walked over to table two, yanking the cloth off of it. A quick investigation revealed the same thing, nothing.

"Crap." he said, frustrated.

"Don't tell me where to find something if it's not actually here!"

He walked around and stared at a few more tables. London stood watching him with one arm crossed over her front holding her other one. Suddenly, Cody stopped dead in his tracks. He seemed to have figured out something. He stooped down and looked at the tablecloth real closely.

"Got it!" he exclaimed.

"What is it?" London asked, coming over to join him.

"It's hidden into the pattern of the tablecloths. See? Each cloth has a different pattern!"

"Oh! That makes sense!"

Cody went back over to the first two tables, put their respective cloths back on, excitedly took out his notepad, and went table to table jotting down the combination.

"Okay, now that we've got that, time to head down into the basement."

(2)

Cody wasted no time punching in the combination. There was a loud click, an even louder whirring, and the door swung open by itself.

The place was rather spacious. There were several tables, one for Mr. Tipton's hobby of tinkering and inventing, and another for developing photos. Cody thought he must have had every type of tool imaginable, either hanging on the walls, or on the table. Various pieces of junk that Mr. Tipton had been using for parts lay discarded on the table and floor against the wall as well. Cody opened the various drawers and checked through them. Nothing but more tools and junk.

London leaned at the doorway, arms crossed, watching him go about it.

The other table was for Mr. Tipton's hobby of developing photos. There were some hanging up that had been recently (the night of the party) developed.

Cody picked one off and looked at it. It showed a picture of a hallway of the hotel and a large, shadowy shape that dominated the center.

So, he had actually managed to get some of the paranormal activity on photo. The other one was of a similar sort, but the hallway was empty, however, there was a sort of ghostly wispiness blurring over the whole shot.

Cody put it back, took the last one and nearly jumped.

It was of the dining room. In the right hand corner stood the Dark Man.

Well, he wasn't SURE that's what it was, it was kinda there and it kinda wasn't. It was like the picture was snapped when it was either phasing in or out.

Could have just been another moving shadow like the first picture and nothing else, but...

London must have seen him tense and asked; "Is everything okay?"

Cody put the picture back.

"Yeah. Fine."

Cody looked down at the wall in front of him and spotted what he had come here for in the first place. Two keys, unmarked.

"Found the keys." He said.

Cody also noted a small flashlight on the desk. He pocketed it, too. Just in case the batteries on his ran out.

"Okay, let's go."

They exited together. They were about to head upstairs, but Cody stopped and turned around.

"Hold on."

"What's wrong?"

Cody didn't say anything. He walked up to the back wall and pressed his hands up against it. He walked all around, feeling through each crevice. When he got to a certain point, he stopped.

"I can feel a draft. The temple is through here. Sorry. Just wanted to figure out where it was in advance, in case we are in a hurry later."

"Good thinking."

"Alright. We're done here. Let's go."

He turned around and stopped dead still. London turned around and gasped.

The shadows in the corner of the room began to move. A shadow was dividing from the shadows in the corner. It rose up, began twisting and contorting into a certain form, getting bigger and bigger...

"Should we run?" asked London.

"Wait." Cody said.

After a point, the shadow floated up towards the ceiling and started expanding out and evaporating.

"Zack's diary said these kinds of things were occurring with great frequency right before everything went to hell. We are not in any danger yet."

Then he added: "But we need to hurry."

(3)

Room 1416 was easy to find. You didn't have to even look at the room numbers, just find the door where Zack had been trying to slam into it with an axe, the one where the wood had been chipped away and the metal stuck out like a sore thumb.

Cody fished out the first unmarked key and tried it. No go. He fished out the second, and it slid right in and he turned it with a tell-tale _click._

He opened the door.

He was surprised. Maybe it was just years of all the stories, theories and legends hyped around Mr. Tipton, but he was nearly bracing himself for a setup that would be a lot more bizarre.

In retrospect, he wasn't even sure now what he had expected to find.

Ouija boards, strange occult artifacts, maybe even an altar, perhaps?

There was none of that here. Mr. Tipton's first room was done out like an artist's studio. It was messy, with paper and art supplies and what-not spread out everywhere, but it wasn't at all anything out of the ordinary.

There were paintings spread all around, some on easels, a lot more on the ground. Cody saw that Mr. Tipton had actually been quite an accomplished painter. Come to think of it, he remembered now that he had read somewhere that there were two museums in Boston that held several of his paintings.

There was an easel on the far wall where it seemed that Mr. Tipton had been doing a self-portrait.

There was also a desk on the other side of the room. Cody walked towards it and began methodically thumbing through everything.

London said nothing and stood behind him with her arms crossed, watching.

Cody went through everything for about five minutes, then said:

"Nothing. If that list IS in this room, it could be anywhere!"

"Maybe it's in the other room?" London suggested.

"Probably. But since we're here, we can't rule out any possibility."

Cody gave up on the desk and began tearing through the entire room in a similar fashion, with devoted concentration.

15 minutes passed, and still nothing turned up.

Cody gave an exasperated sigh.

"I guess we're going to have to try the other room. If we can't find anything there, we can come back here and try again."

London had no response.

Cody turned to walk back out the door, and London turned to follow him when he suddenly changed his mind and headed back over to the desk.

"Are we going or are we staying?" London asked.

"I just have to be certain." Cody said. "If I missed anything, it will do us no good for us to go running off when, in fact, it was here all along and I was just overlooking something. Besides, I don't believe Mr. Tipton would have told us to check a room where there was nothing to find!"

He started scanning his eyes over the desk, this time _not _thumbing through everything, looking carefully.

"What if 'It' managed to destroy the list after all?" London suggested.

"I don't know. Remember what Mr. Tipton said. He thought that it might not have been capable of the sort of cognition to go actively looking for it, like it wasn't all there. And he was smart. His letter said he had to encrypt it. It's got to be hidden somewhere, quite well, maybe..."

He was looking carefully at everything on the desk.

"I'm trying to think, if I was going to hide something, something _really _important, what are all the ways _I_ would go about hiding it?"

Cody noticed something, and a flash of inspiration hit his face.

His eyes had landed on a holder on Mr. Tipton's desk that was filled with pens.

_Just a stupid hunch, but maybe..._

He turned over a random document, and one by one began taking each pen and scribbling on it.

He would scribble with one really quickly, stop, grab another, and start scribbling again.

With one, he stopped abruptly, started scribbling with the same one again, then stopped and turned around with an extremely serious expression.

"Got it."

"Got what?" she was almost frightened by the level of seriousness he had on his face.

"Come here and look at this."

She came over and stood close to him as he grabbed another piece of paper and started writing all over it. However, it was apparently out of ink because no words appeared on the paper.

"I think you need a new pen." London said.

"This isn't a normal pen." Cody said.

"I just remembered, when I was a kid, I had a diary that I didn't want Zack nosing through, so I wrote the entire thing in invisible ink. It was only visible using an ultraviolet light. It was something special I convinced my mom to buy me."

"So, we're going to have to find an ultraviolet light to read it?"

"Not necessarily. Some invisible inks are different. Sometimes the words only show up when heat is applied, others by applying specific chemicals. Some have special pens that work in reverse of this one, actually causing the invisible ink to become visible."

"So, how does _this _one work?"

"I'm unsure." Cody said. "And even if I can figure that out, then we have to figure out where the list actually _is._ If it's something like _heat _that we need to make the words appear, we can't just go through this entire room applying heat to every single document. We don't have that luxury of time."

"But without that list, we're completely screwed."

Cody thought of something.

"But Mr. Tipton WAS an inventor."

He began rummaging through the drawers of the desk again until he pulled out a small flashlight. He flicked it on and began shining it over the desk. Just an ordinary flashlight. He flicked it off, discarded it and began rummaging again.

He pulled out something else that looked kinda like a flashlight, but was a little odd and bulky looking. He flicked it on and shined it on the desk.

The ink on the page he had been writing on appeared under the beam.

"Whoa." London said.

Cody grinned. "Jackpot."

Cody couldn't believe he had figured it out. He felt like reaching over and patting himself on the back.

It felt like serious a boost to his self-confidence. It suddenly occurred to him that since he left school, he hadn't been utilizing or continuing to develop the one thing that had been his his entire life: his brain.

Sure, Zack had all the social skills and self-confidence, but there was one thing that Cody had had that Zack never did: A sharp knack for memorization and problem solving. Grades. Book smarts. Cody was a natural braniac. The kind who would meticulously takes notes in class even though he never really needed to at all.

It was the one thing Cody had always had that he could be proud of. He suddenly realized that he hadn't been proud of it in a very long time.

He could pinpoint the rough time period when he had stopped being proud.

_When all my book-smarts failed to cause me to do anything significant with my life._

_When I realized that it was my worthless brother, the one who did not have the gift of knowledge, or even necessarily common sense, suddenly found himself at the top with everything I ever wanted, and I never achieved anything because... because..._

Cody knew how that thought should have finished itself in his head. He didn't. He blocked it out. For now.

It was an almost subconscious mental block. The kind that a man gets when he is hit with the realization of a sudden, unarguable truth that he _wants _to argue with, but also doesn't, because it is something that forces him to face something unsavory about himself that he would be too embarrassed to have to realize, something that would force him to have to look back on all his previous pity parties and acknowledge a greater truth.

It would involve the utterance of five words, just five, no more, no less, but five harsh, incriminating words that would alter the very fabric of the personal reality he had tried to create, and he knew he _should _utter them, that he _should _have finished the thought in his head at this moment, that he _will _probably finish it at some point in the future, and that he _will _have to face something unsavory and embarrassing about himself, and then he will have to figure out where to go from there. However, he just can't do that yet.

No, it simply cannot be done now.

He shoves it out, he _knows _he's shoved it out, but he just simply can't face it right now, and so life goes on.

He forgets about it, remaining internally unchanged _(for now)_, yet continuing to reap the negative consequences of his intentional amnesia, _(for now)_, to allow himself to wallow in his...

No, can't be allowed to finish _that _thought either.

_Pushing stuff out of my head because I find it frightening or embarrassing?_

No, he never did that. Preposterous. There was nothing wrong with him. He was simply the victim of circumstance.

_There was a DARK MAN and BEINGS OF LIGHT and SYMBOLS ALL OVER THE WALLS and you ALMOST DIED but were given a second chance for a GREATER DES..._

No, can't finish that thought either.

_YOU FORGOT._

No, he never forgot. Just simply wasn't ever there. Probably never will be.

It was just...

"Is everything okay?"

Cody suddenly snapped out of his little trance and looked at London. She was looking at him with a concerned look on her face.

"Hmm? Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"You were standing there just staring at the desk. I was getting worried."

"Oh, sorry. I was just deep in thought, that's all. I do that sometimes."

"Thinking about your brother?"

"No... well, yes. Sorta. Just some old memories, that's all."

"Oh."

"Anyways, I guess we should start looking for that list. I think if I were to hide something like that, I would probably hide it right out in the open."

London looked confused. "Why would he hide it out in the open?"

"So if someone was looking for it, it would be in the last place they'd think of looking."

London still looked confused. "I still don't get it."

"I'll explain later." Cody sighed.

Cody shuffled through the papers right there on the desk, shining the light over everything.

"Aha."

Cody pulled out a sketch of bird. Or at least, that's what it was disguised as. But the light showed the truth.

There were three columns hidden on the sheet. Names, _Lyrics?_, and room numbers.

It was written like this:

BETTY GABLE - TYMA - 1218

MATILDA FLY - MORCANA - 2913

JOANNE WINTERS - FRENIC - 2011

EDITH DAY - IXIAM - 1693

Cody looked at it, frowned, turned it around, put it down, and began shuffling around through the rest of the desk some more.

"What's the matter? That IS it, isn't it?" London asked.

"This list is incomplete." Cody said. "This only gives the location to four lyrics. There MUST be another list somewhere. Or maybe it IS here, just encrypted in a different way."

Cody took the light and began shining it on all the other pages on the desk. He opened the drawers, took any papers that were inside, and checked them all. No avail.

"This is ridiculous." Cody said frustrated. "Why would he state that he had a list hidden somewhere when it was only HALF?"

"Well," London said. "Maybe the second half is hidden in the other room?"

"Maybe. But the letter didn't SAY anything about it being split into two."

"It also said we needed to check BOTH rooms, that both had important information."

"I assumed the other room was only mentioned because that's where he set up the ritual to divine the final lyric."

"Well, maybe the other half IS in this room, but it's just hidden in a different way."

Cody put his head into his hands.

_What a pain._

"Grandfather DID say in his letter that he had to be careful to the point where finding the lyrics would be nearly impossible."

She had a point. But had it actually been necessary to go to such an extreme? How were you supposed to do what needed to be done if the only person who had known what to do had deliberately made it borderline impossible? Careful or not?

"So..." London asked. "Do we keep looking here, or do we go and try the other room?"

Cody sighed. "No. We count our blessings, take what we have, and find these four lyrics first. We'll worry about the rest later."

He thought of something else.

"When I was in the men's bathroom, I happened across a lyric by happenstance. It wasn't that well hidden. Even if this is all there is to the list, he MUST have hidden the rest in places that can be found kind of obviously. If we keep our eyes peeled, we might run into others.""But wouldn't it take too long to go around the whole hotel trying to see if we come across them?" she asked. "Besides, what if that was one of the decoy lyrics?"

"It may end up being all we have to go on. Besides, even if it was a decoy, it would have to be _accurate _in order for 'It' to be able to find, recognize, and destroy it. So I think we can count on it being accurate. It's just one less we'll end up having to hunt down. Hopefully it won't be one of the ones already on this list, so we won't waste time chasing down a lyric we already have. We'll start our search down a few floors at 1218 and work our way up."

In truth, he was afraid to go poking around in Mr. Tipton's other room just yet in case this WAS the only list, even though it really may have been the smarter thing to do, but so far he'd felt like he'd been on a winning streak, and deep down inside, he didn't want to lose that.

Yes, he was running away again. Searching for the instant gratification that would numb his fears _(temporarily)_,and then go about worrying about facing the possible cold, harsh reality lat... whoops. Can't afford to let himself finish _that _thought either.

Cody and London left the room and marched through the hotel silently, like hardened adventurers exploring some deadly, ancient labyrinth, as giving off the slightest sound would have been all that was necessary to wake the dead and spell certain doom. And indeed, it just may have been.


	13. Tyma

**Chapter 10**

**Tyma**

(1)

They had to return to the manager's office to get the keys to the new room numbers they had acquired. Now they headed for the first room on their list, 1218.

"So, exactly how did you know to look for the list out in the open?" London finally asked. The question had been bugging her.

"Hmm? Oh, it's simple. If you want to hide something that you think someone is going to be looking for, and you know they are probably going to be searching carefully through your personal belongings, theoretically the best place to hide it would be right out in the open since it's the _last _place anyone would think of looking for it."

She seemed to be pondering this.

"I don't get it." She said.

"Well, it's like this. There was this classic mystery novel written by Edgar Allen Poe called 'The Purloined Letter.'. It's about a detective who is trying to find a missing letter that contains compromising information that can be used to blackmail a very important person.

Everyone _knows _who stole it, the problem is, they can't find it on him. They have detectives going through his house when he's not there, turning the place literally upside down, checking behind pictures, under the carpet, examining every fine thread with microscopes, probing the cushions with needles, literally leaving no single thread unchecked in the room. They even have detectives disguise themselves as muggers to try and find the letter on him, but he never has it.

As it turns out, the main character of the story figures out that the letter _was_ in his office the whole time, sitting right on his desk in plain sight. The guy who had stolen the letter knew his office was going to be gone over with a fine tooth comb, so he put it in exactly the last place that any of them would have even thought of looking."

London looked amazed.

"That's pretty interesting. So, you're one of those people that likes to read a lot?"

"Ever since I was six. I don't think there ever was a point in my life up until the last several years when I _wasn't _reading."

"What changed in the last several years?"

He winced. Not the question he was wanting to answer. But for some reason, he found himself talking about it anyways.

"Well, I guess it kinda started when I got married."

"Oh. Is your wife still at home?"

"We're divorced."

"Oh."

"Yeah. I've kinda been on a downward slump since then.""Why? If you read a lot, you probably could do just about anything with your life."

_No I couldn't! It doesn't work that way!_

Her response irritated him a bit.

"And what makes you say that?"

"Well, I don't like to read. I find it boring. I've tried, it's just that I can't seem to hold my attention longer for ANYTHING that doesn't have any sort of pictures in it or if it's longer than half a page. I really envy people who read. It always seems like they have a better handle on life. Daddy wants me to take over the Tipton empire someday, but I'm scared to. I mean, I know nothing about business. I think I could, if I could read. I know that all the successful business types always read. Real smart types read. I'm not all that smart. Sometimes I worry about what would happen if we were to lose all our money. I don't know what I would do. I would have nowhere to go. So, you have an advantage over most people."

"Not necessarily. I read a lot, sure, but Zack NEVER read. He couldn't have cared less about school, academics, or anything like that. But HE got all the fame and money. I just work as a doctor at a small emergency clinic. All my book smarts didn't get me much out of life."

"What did you want to do with your life?"

Cody grinned.

"Be the first lawyer-doctor in space."he said, recounting his silly childhood ambition.

"And you can't do anything about that now?"

"No, I can't."

"Why?"

The questions were starting to annoy him. It was almost like a child asking _why? why? why? _incessantly.

He turned around and said, maybe with _too _much of a harsh tone.

"Because life just doesn't work that way! Sometimes it's just the way you were born! You can be really smart and struggle and struggle all your life and never have nothing to show for it, but then your brother, by some depraved twist of fate, who never TRIED to do anything significant for himself, is suddenly granted everything the universe has to offer! I _can't _win! I'm tired of struggling! It's _always_ an uphill battle, nothing _ever _pans out the way I try to plan it, I mean, all I want is to be happy! But I just... can't... graahhh."

He turned around and started walking again. London followed him.

"It sounds like he probably spent a lot of his life doing stuff for himself, and you just kinda gave up."

Ouch. That hurt. He stopped still, letting London's words ruminate on tip of his brain. Then he pushed them out. He turned to face her.

"Look, I didn't give up. It's just the way things ended up turning out to be, okay? I can't control that. Nobody can. It's just the way of the universe. You are thrust into whatever random scenario life wants to stick you in, with whatever skills and talents you may or may not possess, and life just goes from there and screws you in whatever way it pleases. It's just luck of the draw. Sometimes you crash and burn, and sometimes you are just destined to get all the luck. Sometimes you gain a lot of the good things in life only to lose them later on and die alone and penniless. That happens too."

"Are you an atheist?"

_That _question struck him too. And he found himself suddenly unable to push the thoughts out of his head that he wanted too.

_Angelic beings standing around you... dying in a pool of your own blood... could've gone to heaven... supernatural gift of prolonged life... no guarantee of heaven after the fact... Dark Man..._

_That was just a dream. It wasn't real._

"No." he found himself answering honestly, and was surprised, though he couldn't imagine why. He _had, _as the scientifically minded type he fancied himself,always leaned more towards Creationism rather than evolution alone.

"But you think your life is just up to chance?"

"I just... I believe that there's _something _going on. Something that we humans haven't been let in on about. Like now. I mean, it's pretty hard to believe, but all of this is real, and we don't really have any idea what this... thing... really is, or how it works. We only have ideas. But we know it's here. We've SEEN evidence that it's here. But I think all life is like that. There is no way of telling if we were just shoved here, if everything is up to fate, or if everyone actually _has _some sort of greater purpose that each one of us must find and fulfill. Nobody can prove that."

"But isn't it better to believe in a greater purpose rather than just assuming nothing?"

"I don't want to lie to myself." he said as he turned his back to her and resumed walking.

There was silence between them for a bit. London seemed to be thinking of something. But before she could respond, Cody said, "We're here."

Indeed, 1218 now stood right in front of them. Cody fumbled through his pocket for the right key and inserted it into the lock. They entered.

It was no different than the myriad of other rooms in the hotel, though it had the appearance, like Mr. Tipton's room, of someone who had taken up residence here and was not a guest. A member of the staff, perhaps?

"Let's split up and start looking for ANYTHING that might resemble one of the lyrics or its translation."

London headed over to the small kitchen area on the right side of the room, while Cody took the opposite side. He stopped in his tracks.

There were separate doors leading into a separate bedroom and bathroom.

"Oh, and let's not leave this room by ourselves for another for ANY reason. We don't want to risk one of us vanishing without the other noticing something's wrong."

"Okay."

They went through the hotel room meticulously, leaving nothing unturned.

Apparently, the occupant of this room (Betty) had been a musician.

There were multiple musical instruments scattered over the room along with their respective cases.

Cody noted several violins, a horn, and a clarinet, among other things.

The desk in the far corner had sheet music on it along with a metronome. The kitchen counter also had sheet music on it. Apparently, she had been preparing to perform during the party. But no sign of the lyric.

After searching the main area thoroughly, Cody and London checked the bedroom together, then the bathroom, but nothing.

Cody was frustrated at the end of it all.

"It's not here!"

"But it _has _to be. Betty is one of the people on grandfather's list!" London replied.

"Yeah, well, if she had it on her, it's not here. If she _did _have it, she must have had it on her during the party, which means that when she vanished, it's long lost."

"But wouldn'tgrandfather have made sure to tell her to hide it somewhere safe?"

"Maybe after swallowing everyone it _did _go on a search through the hotel, found the lyric, and destroyed it."

"But what if it's not hidden in this room at all?"

London had a point. For someone who didn't seem capable of that much overly intellectual thought, her statement had possibility. But only because the lyric wasn't to be found in the most obvious place.

"If it's not in this room, then it could be anywhere!"

Cody walked back over to the desk with the sheet music, frustrated, and began pouring through the pages again as if something might randomly have materialized that hadn't been there before.

He looked at the metronome, and for some strange reason that he couldn't articulate, he felt the sudden urge to reach over and switch it on.

Pointless to do such a thing at this time, but for a second it was like he just did it without thinking at all, almost possessed, and later he would find himself wondering why he _had _actually done it, but he had barely had anytime to think at all after switching it on, because the very moment that he hit the switch, the ticker began going back and forth with that obnoxious loud TICK TICK TICK sound, and Cody yelped and jumped back.

London, who had been searching elsewhere, jerked her head in Cody's direction in sudden fear and saw him standing there, staring hard at something on the desk. She rushed over to where he was.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, concerned.

"The heck...?" was all Cody could say.

When London got over to the desk beside Cody, it was all she could do but gasp, too.

On the desk was a letter. But it was not an ordinary letter. It was a ghostly, transparent letter.

It was pulsing to the tone of the metronome. Each TICK would cause it to become slightly more solid, then it would revert till the next TICK.

Cody reached over and switched off the metronome. The letter vanished. Cody switched it back on. The letter reappeared again. Still ghostly. Still pulsing.

"How is this possible?" London asked.

"Psychic phenomenon?" Cody speculated. "Nothing like this has _ever_ been documented before!"

Cody reached over to the letter, slowly, as if it was a live wire that might suddenly come to life and shock him the moment he touched it. London watched him wide-eyed.

He could actually feel the adrenaline pulsing through his system as he put his fingers to it. Nothing happenedto him, but he could feel the feel of solid paper underneath his fingertips.

He took ahold of it, and was shocked to find that he could actuallyhold it in his hands and take it off the desk, as if the pages were ordinary pieces of paper.

It was almost surreal. It was like holding a real, physical object, but at the same time it was almost like holding a ghost.

Transparent or not, he could make out the handwriting with surprising ease. In fact, it almost felt like the handwriting had a life of its own, as if he was not just reading it, but as if the words themselves were being beamed right into his mind's eye. He was seeing the words physically on the page, but he could read them far more easily than if they were on any actual physical paper.

The letter said:

_Elizabeth,_

_I know that I frowned upon your concerns that Mr. Tipton might not be well lately, but now I am beginning to believe you may be right. It may be just the stress of Arthur's death, or a combination of it and the nasty scenario surrounding his divorce several years back, but I've started to see some of the odd behavior you've been talking about. For example, I heard someone creeping through the halls the other night. It gave me the most unsettling feeling. I don't know why I felt the way that I did, but I also wondered briefly if there might have been a burglar prowling about. _

_I waited till I thought I couldn't hear it outside my room any more, and decided to chance going downstairs and alerting the overnight staff. I had rounded the hall to the stairwell, and I saw him, I'm pretty sure it was him, though strangely another part of me is not so sure. There was a man standing there, just staring at me. I couldn't made out any of his features. It was too dark. But he was standing there, looking towards me, it was almost as if he had been WAITING there for me, specifically waiting, and even though I had been as quiet as a mouse, he KNEW I was coming, specifically ME coming. He was standing there in a very strange pose._

_I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but it seemed he was kinda standing, but kinda leaning. Standing, but there was something WRONG with the pose. Almost seemed... crooked. I thought about screaming and waking everyone up, and indeed, I WOULD have screamed if It... I mean, he had started coming in my direction. There was a small table with a vase to the right of me, and I instinctively snatched it up and held it up to me as if it were a weapon. I wanted to say something, anything, but I was too scared to open my mouth to speak. All I could do was head back to my room, never once turning my head from the direction of the dark ma... I mean, whate... WHOEVER that person was. _

_I dead bolted my door, even barricaded it. I was so scared out of my mind I was lost to all reason. Nothing tried to get through my door, but I didn't sleep at all that night. I didn't tell anyone the next day, I knew I should have, but I was just feeling so unnerved the entire day. I kept my ear out listening for if any of the others guests had been talking about anything that had been stolen that night or any other strange occurrences in the hotel. Nothing. I did resolve, before settling down to bed, that I would get ahold of my nerves and tell someone for sure the next day. _

_The next night, around midnight, I heard someone walking around again. I could see a light shining from underneath my door, this time someone out there was walking around with a flashlight. I looked through my peephole and saw with great surprise and relief that it was Mr. Tipton. My first thought was that he knew about the burglar and was trying to catch him in the act that night, secretly, without alerting the guests that anything was amiss and raising alarm. I opened my door and tried to confront him with what had happened the previous night, but there seemed to be something not right with him. He looked haggard. Really haggard. And almost, to a point, like he didn't have his wits about him. His look scared me, almost as much as the... dark man. _

_He didn't try to comfort me or tell me everything would be alright, he got this near crazed look in his eye, grabbed me by the shoulders, and warned me, very strictly that I was not to come out of my room for the rest of the night or any other night for that matter. He said that even if someone came to my door and knocked on it, I was not to open it for ANY reason. _

_Needless to say, I was really shocked and scared, even moreso than before. To appease him, I went back to my room, but then secretly snuck out again and followed him, keeping to the shadows, always staying just around the corner to where I couldn't be seen if he looked back and shined the flashlight in my direction. I was silent as a mouse. His behavior was beyond strange. He was mumbling to himself the whole time, and I eventually realized that it seemed like he was having a full blown conversation with himself. _

_Several times I saw him stop and stand in front of a few guest doors. He would stop and just stand there, staring at it, for up to ten minutes at a time, as if he were in a trance. Then he would suddenly snap out of it and start walking down the hall again. One time he snapped out of it and IMMEDIATELY started walking really fast in my direction. I quickly turned and bolted, I don't think he saw me, but I ran all the way to the stairwell and bolted down the stairs. _

_Minutes later, I could hear him enter as well, heading down the stairs. I lost my nerve to keep following him and I went back to my room, and locked and barricaded the door yet AGAIN. I didn't hear him outside my door the rest of the night, but I had to wonder. Was he out there, standing there, staring at my door, in that weird trance of his, or worse yet, was he actually WAITING for me? Or did I already walk across him while he happened to already BE in the trance and just happened to be looking my direction the night before? _

_Was he the dark man that had been staring me down? I wanted to tell someone. Really. It's just that I was so scared. And I was afraid at this point if I started recounting what I had been seeing and my feelings, people would think I was out of my mind. And I saw Mr. Tipton that morning, and he seemed to be just fine, even greeted me with a warm smile! I started to think that maybe I_ was_ losing it. I didn't hear him sneaking around any more after that, though I've still been dead bolting my door, but the weirdness elevated to a whole new level this evening as I was in here getting ready for the party tonight, rehearsing. I was stopped mid-practice with a loud, frantic knocking on my door. It was so frantic that it chilled me right to the bone. When I looked through the peephole to see Mr. Tipton, it didn't alleviate my fears like it normally would have. _

_In fact, he looked even more haggard than before, and it scared me all the more. But I knew he wouldn't go away until I answered and he would just keep banging and banging until I finally gave in. I only prayed to God that there were other people in the rooms next to me, or that someone would come passing by in the hall so that I wouldn't be alone with him and whatever strange agenda he might have in mind. _

_I opened the door and he immediately started apologizing for the strange way he'd been acting, and at first I'd felt inclined to believe him, that he HAD just been going through a temporary stressful situation, until he suddenly thrust something really strange in my hand. It was, if you can believe it, some kind of strange animal skin! There was some sort of symbol that seemed to have been branded onto it. He told me that it was very important, that I was to take it and hide it someplace safely. He said that he had already committed it to memory, but it needed to be kept hidden somewhere out of the way but where it could be found if someone were searching hard for it. _

_He told me that it was an ancient symbol, and it was pronounced 'TYMA', spelled just like that. He said that I was not to forget this at any cost. The look in his eyes frightened me, not just the strange situation or his tone of voice, but how dead serious he looked, as if I didn't follow his instructions to the letter something really bad might happen. _

_Not in the sense that HE would do something really bad to me, but there seemed to be an underlying sense of... fear. Maybe he's just completely gone off the deep end. Maybe he needs to get a good, long look at by a professional psychiatrist, or maybe he just needs to go away on an extended vacation. I think Arthur's death affected him far more heavily than we might realize. I think he blames himself. I feel like it's almost affected him far more than Lindsay. Added to the nasty situation surrounding the divorce with Meredith several years ago, I worry that everything is finally beginning to take its toll on him. I feel like I did something awful, but at the same time, it was about the only thing I could bring myself to do in the state of mind I was in. I played along. I acted like I understood the importance of the situation and told Mr. Tipton that I would hide it. Which I actually plan on doing. _

_I know it's probably not the best idea to go on encouraging what ever mental psychosis that he may currently be entertaining, but if you had seen his eyes, you would have understood. I'm going to humor him for now. I'm going to take it and hide it, but NOT in my room. I will not feel comfortable sleeping tonight knowing this thing is somewhere in the room with me. I'm going to hide it inside the piano in the dining room. You can take a look at it for yourself tomorrow, and we can go about discussing what we are going to do about Mr. Tipton. _

_I'm sorry to have to burden you with this right now, because I know that you have had your hands full with the party and this will just add on to the stress, but I think whatever this delusion he may be under has gone too far. _

_The one thing that unnerves me the most though, is, well, I know this is silly, and probably just the over workings of MY imagination now, but, there is a part of me that feels... like it really WASN'T Mr. Tipton staring at me in the hallway that night. I mean, logically, that's the only person it COULD have been... but I just... I don't know. I just can't shake the strange feeling I had when I walked around and saw him there. I didn't think it was Mr. Tipton at all. I saw him, and the strange thought that flashed through my head, almost as if it was a psychic premonition of some sort, was: 'Dark Man'. _

_I don't know why I thought that. I don't know why it continues to bug me so much. Part of me wonders if, what if there IS someone evil here in this hotel? What if Mr. Tipton knows about it and is deliberately keeping us in the dark? What if there is some sort of strange conspiracy going on here of which we are all in danger and don't know it? I know my imagination is really running away with me now, but I just can't stop thinking about it. But we will discuss these things in greater detail tomorrow. The party begins soon, and I need to rehearse. I'll drop this letter in your inbox so you can see it and won't have to worry about it till the morning._

_Warm regards,_

_Betty Gable_

Cody put the ghostly pages back onto the desk and switched the metronome off. They vanished.

"We now know where the lyric is. It's hidden in the dining room piano."

"Are you okay? You don't look very good." London said.

"It's nothing. I'm fine. Just... well, it's nothing."

But London didn't look like she believed him. Indeed, on the way back to the dining room to check the piano, where they had been relatively conversational before, now an unearthly silence hung over them.

London WANTED to talk more about it, but the look in Cody's eyes told her that it would be best to not bring it up. Really, she WAS a lot smarter and more tactful SOMETIMES than people gave her credit for.

Because they weren't talking, London noticed that the hotel seemed to feel a lot more spooky and unsettling.

She was surprised they hadn't encountered much supernatural activity yet, other than the moving shadow in the basement. But it was probably just as Cody said, supernatural occurrences would probably start to manifest themselves more and more the longer they were there. Then...

London wondered what it would be like when 'It' finally appeared. Would they be able to get away? Or were they already dead as it is?

In Cody's mind, he was having a much different internal battle. Betty's description of the 'Dark Man' in her letter had unnerved him.

He remembered, from the dreams he had had.

At age four, he had gotten up from his bed to find himself in a world that resembled his but at the same time wasn't.

He had seen the Dark Man himself, and then had seen him again when he was 14.

But those were just dreams... right?

Cody didn't remember, for example, actually being on the verge of death. _Couldn't _have happened. Both scenarios were far too outlandish to actually have occurred.

_But what exactly am I supposed to call the situation we are in now?_

Cody wondered, could it really be that these things _did _happen to him and he somehow forgot?

Was there really such a thing as a Dark Man out there that desperately wanted him and had wanted him his entire life?

_Black, demonic panther-like creatures emerging from underneath mine and Zack's beds..._

_There was a hole there. There is a hole here, too._

Cody remembered the account of the Ouija board session Zack and Maddie had had.

When 'It' had started talking to them, it had specifically spelled out on the board

_'ZACK. MADDIE. CODY.'_

It knew about him. Had it wanted him all along? And for what purpose?

What were they up against? The devil?

Cody wondered if his dream where he had been conversing with Timothy Pike had been just a dream, too.

Cody remembered how 'IT' had appeared, and the horrible, cold feeling of being surrounded by darkness and all those thousands of whispering voices.

_All the souls It's absorbed so far?_

They made it to the dining room. Cody opened the glass windowed wooden door and they entered.

(2)

Cody felt it from the very moment that they entered. Apparently, London could feel it too. He could see it in her body language and expression as they stepped across the threshold.

For a moment, Cody had thought that the room was alive. He could feel, when he walked in, for just a split second, that the room was entirely packed out. Every table was full, waiters were rushing to-and-fro working overtime, the maitre d was dealing with a very long line, there were people sitting or standing around waiting to be seated, (some of them had been sitting for as much a up to 30 or 45 minutes), people were chatting loudly, dinner dishes clanking...

Except none of it was really there. Cody had to stop for a second and get his bearings. For the first few seconds upon entering it had all felt so completely real, but as he looked around, there was nobody there, no one at all. But the room still felt alive. Not at all the way it had felt when him and London had been there earlier.

"You feel it too, don't you?" he asked her.

"This place is alive." she said.

"We're running out of time." he said.

He walked fast over to the piano. He lifted up the cover and there it was. The piece of animal skin. The symbol was there, it looked like two crosses with a looping hook coming out of the bottom right. Cody took out his notebook and jotted 'TYMA' down in the appropriate section.

He now had a grand total of 'Kars', 'Larsus', and 'Tyma'.

Cody left the skin there and closed the covering.

"We're not taking it with us?" London asked.

"I'm leaving it there for someone else. In case there needs to be someone else."

"Isn't it dangerous to keep the lyrics and translations together in your notebook? In case they end up drawing 'It' to us? Like grandfather said?"

"Thought about that." Cody said. "But I think we're in enough extreme danger already. I don't think it matters. Besides, we NEED the correct order. Although..."

He took his pen and scratched out the symbols for Kars, Larsus, and Tyma.

"We don't need the symbols themselves. Just the correct order."

"Good thinking."

"Just in case." he said.

He checked his notes. The next room was 1693.

"We're headed for 1693 next." he said.

He took another glance around the room.

"I'm gonna be honest, though, I really think we're running out of time faster than we realize it."

She nodded in agreement, and they left the room without another word.

The completely dead room continued to live on, as an invisible party with unseen guests carried on, though they could not be seen at all, and truly, maybe they were not actually there at all.

Cody had missed one thing, though. There was something that was most definitely there. Had he turned at just the right time and seen the room from just the right angle, he might have seen it, and not simply looked it over at a glance. Standing in the shadows. Watching them. That strange crooked pose. The party went on.


	14. Ixiam and Frenic

**Chapter 11**

**Ixiam and Frenic**

(1)

They were walking faster. Faced with the certain enclosing danger and the ever shortening lifespan of their own mortality, something in their sub consciousnesses had triggered, the same as it would with any human in the midst of a major life or death crisis situation. More adrenaline pumps into the bloodstream, and the person or persons are now far more wide awake than they would normally have been, and everything is done at a slightly more frantic pace. The more dangerous the situation, the more adrenaline gets pumped, and the more of a rush you get. Human beings have been known to do physically impossible things in crisis situations. There was even once a documented report of a man who, on the rush of adrenaline, was able to even lift an entire _car _with his bare hands!

This was a very dangerous mission. Cody felt fear. Fear that they might not complete the task at hand in time. He _wanted _to. They had come this far. It would be a shame to get close to the end, only for it to all fall apart shortly before it was about to be completed. But if things started looking bad, _really _bad, they would have to make a run for it and get out for a period of time. But the question was, how to tell when things actually _had _gotten to the point to where they were that bad?

They might be walking along, _thinking _they were all right, and then suddenly, the darkness appears, closing over them, enveloping them, the sounds of a thousand whispers of many other victims all washing over them, and something evil, something depraved, ripping their very souls from their bodies and plunging them into the depths of a twisted darkness from which there was eternally no escape from.

They weren't talking so much on this trip from the diner up to the 16th floor. There was not much time for talking. Now was a time for action. And yet, they still only had three lyrics. Nine more to go. The odds were not stacked in their favor.

They came to the room. Cody unlocked and opened it.

Another room that had the appearance of a staff member who had lived there rather than a guest. Cody was beginning to surmise that Mr. Tipton had been very selective of giving the lyrics and translations to only people he personally knew, which would actually make things a little easier. Not much, just a little. If worst came to worst and they _couldn't _find the locations of the other lyrics, then they could at least go through the files in the manager's office and start checking the rooms of all the staff members. Of course, who's to say that Mr. Tipton didn't put a few in the hands of people he didn't know? That was probable, too, and they would have to keep that in mind as well.

The room wasn't incredibly different from the one before, but of course, none of the rooms in the hotel were. A gramophone sat off on a small table to the side. There were several personal pictures on the wall. They began doing a similar thorough search of the room. Cody was shocked when he pulled a picture off the wall and saw that the animal skin had been stuck to the back of it carefully.

Cody was surprised. This kind of luck they hadn't been getting so far. The symbol looked like a vertical Indian arrow with the tip pointed straight up, and two small horizontal slashes towards the bottom. Cody excitedly opened his notebook, found the symbol, and wrote 'Ixiam' next to it, before crossing the symbol off.

"Two more for this list." He said. "Now we head to 2011."

Off they went again. The little bit of luck they'd had had put a bit of hope in their hearts. If most of the lyrics came this easily...

They stopped short in the hallway. Two shadows seemed to be moving through it going around the far corner before appearing to fade out of existence.

"Nothing to worry about." Cody said. "We're going to probably be seeing a lot of those pretty soon. I was right, I think, when I said we don't have nearly as much time as Zack, Maddie and Trevor did."

(2)

The lyric was impossible to find in this room. Worse, there was no letter or note or anything that could be possibly used to locate the possible whereabouts of it.

Cody was feeling discouraged again and feeling on the verge of swearing up a storm. London wanted to comfort him, but she felt about as much comfort as he did. If they couldn't find the lyric, if they were missing even just one of them, then they were screwed. And if they spent _too _much time looking for them...

"Let's get out." Cody suddenly said.

"What?" She looked over at him surprised.

"Let's just get out. We're in way over our heads. What are we doing this for? Vengeance? To solve the mystery of the century? To save others from befalling the same fate? What? Mr. Tipton tried! He had more time than any of us combined and _he _couldn't do it! Zack, Maddie and Trevor tried! They didn't make it! Todd probably just barely got in the door! What makes _us _think we have a shot? What? For someone who was hoping someone might come along and finish his work, Mr. Tipton sure didn't make it easy for us to find the pieces to the puzzle!"

"If grandfather had made it easy, it might have destroyed his work!"

"He could have at least _tried_!" Cody said. He was obviously nearing the verge of a breakdown. "Why couldn't he have mailed a letter to someone, with the lyrics and the translations? Then someone could have come back, gone down to the temple, uttered the incantation, and this would have already been over!"

"That wouldn't necessarily have worked." London said.

"Remember how skeptical daddy is? There are many others in our family who share the same skepticism. It may have gone unheeded. Besides, if someone _had _come here, they might have been devoured from the beginning! Like Todd..."

"But he could have _tried_."

London had no answer for him. Cody did have a point.

Cody slumped down onto the sofa in the room.

Why _did_ it have to be so freaking complicated? It seemed like the odds were constantly stacked against them no matter how hard they tried. The whole thing was a puzzle. Normally, Cody was good at puzzles. He _enjoyed _puzzles. But they were playing around with their lives here, and he preferred to stay safer than sorry.

Safer than sorry. That was the path he had taken his whole life. He grieved for Zack. He felt sorry for all the others, lost in whatever hell they might be in right now, but he knew he didn't want to go there either.

_"You can go to heaven now. You will be granted entry. Later on in life, there is no guarantee."_

Yeah. There was no guarantee for certain. When Cody had gotten here, he was at a point in his life where he couldn't care if he lived or died anymore. Or so he had _thought. _But the more he started to think about it, the more he began to realize just what a coward he really was.

_Do I actually love life that much? Or am I just afraid to die?_

He could leave now. Go back to his mediocre unfulfilling life. Work nine to five, crash at home in the evening watching TV, surviving off TV dinners and carry out, continuing to bemoan what had become of his life, grieving for his brother whom he would never see again, who, becoming nothing more than a phantom, would transition into being someone he had merely known once upon a time, had shared a few good times together (as kids), but someone who was no more, and would end up never having existed in his life at all. The media would have a field day with the story of the latest disappearances. He would have to spend his days fending off reporters for awhile. The Ghost Zone would remain, an everlasting tribute to whatever darkness had long ago befallen this place.

"Do you want to leave?" he asked London.

He knew that if she said 'yes', he would go along with her and never look back.

Her answer surprised him.

"No. No I don't."

"Why?" he asked her. She thought about it for a second.

"Because we Tiptons have been running away all our lives. I've been running, too. I don't want to do that anymore. Grandfather never tried to run away from whatever this thing is. He gave it his very best. And we all failed him because we were too scared to try and carry on his work."

"I thought you said most of your family was skeptics."

"Not entirely. Skeptical of the supernatural? Of course. Skeptical that something weird actually took place that led up to the disappearances of hundreds of people? Not at all. Nobody in our family wants to touch this place with a ten foot pole, whether they believe in the supernatural or not."

"But do you think this is worth risking your life for?"

"Why not?" she said, with a voice of almost indignation that surprised him.

"Todd had to die! But he had more bravery than anyone I've ever met in my life! Why should I think _I _should be different? Before I met him, I lived a very selfish life. Life, to me, was all about shopping, visiting exotic places, and having an overall good time. School was a bore to me, and I didn't bother getting very good grades. I often just plain didn't bother to show up! I enjoyed being an heiress. The prospect of running the Tipton empire someday scared me to death, because I knew one day that my whole way of life would come to a crashing halt. Eventually, I would have to give up my good, carefree life, and get all serious and business-like, and I thought when I finally had to do that, I might have to kill myself. So I tried to prolong it as long as I could by filling up my life with things.

Daddy was never there for me, either. I barely saw much of him at all when I was growing up. I was closer to some of my _butlers _than I was to my dad. I didn't really have a father or mother figure to look up to while I was growing up, especially since father would sometimes go through as many as up to three different wives a _year_. So I was running from that, too, trying to hold off from dealing with my fear or depression. But Todd changed all that. When Todd came into my life, I felt like, my life suddenly took on a whole new meaning it hadn't had before. Todd was one of the bravest people I ever met. He never ran from anything. He helped me come out of myself a lot. Being around him made me want to stop running and try harder. I wanted to be brave like him, and learn to be better. When he came running off to the Tipton, I should have been right there by his side.

I just... I don't want to let this thing win. If there's even the slightest chance, I want to try to do the right thing for once and stop it, even if... even if..."

She had started crying. Cody was shocked at her speech, and when she started crying he went over to her and put his arms around her and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry about Todd."

"You can run away if you want. But I'm staying. I'm going to try and finish what my grandfather started."

For the final time, what she said struck him to the core, struck him HARD, and all of a sudden, it was like a dam was let lose. All sorts of thoughts and feelings he had been repressing started to burst open like a dam.

_Running... running away..._

Of course, he had run. When his idea of what a perfect family should be like fell apart, he had ran. Tossed himself into his academic studies, trying to numb the pain, trying to make something out of himself, trying to obtain a life that he could be proud of. He didn't want to have to deal with the pain of coming from a divorced family.

He'd been running away, too, from Harvard and Yale. Maybe he _could _have gotten in. But all the self-imposed pressure he'd been putting on himself all throughout his teens had really gotten to him. He felt like he _had _to do it. That he _had _to be the best. And he had psyched himself out to the point where it became an obsession. If he didn't make it, the identity he had been trying to create, the life that he thought would give him fulfillment that he could be proud of, would all come crashing down around him.

He had become so obsessed that he had stopped socializing much altogether. It wasn't really that Zack was better at him than making friends and he couldn't, it was just that he just never went out of his way to try. Other people would have taken up too much of his time. And how many times had he been offered to hang out with and socialize with other people, even his brother, that he had flat out turned down because he wanted to stay home and keep studying towards his dream? And then he resented everyone else, because everyone else was always socializing and having fun but he wasn't having much fun and felt like in order to have fun he must shoot for a much more difficult future, and he _couldn't _have any enjoyment until he made it, and this turned into resenting others, loathing others, wanting desperately to be as carefree and social as others, but he just couldn't afford it.

_Running._

When he signed on to go with Zack to a much less prestigious college, he had breathed a sigh of relief.

Because the pressure was off and it was 'easier'. But it ultimately didn't make him feel any better inside at all.

He _knew _he had just given up and not even tried. And that made him _more _depressive, bitter, antisocial, and resentful.

And so he studied even _harder _to compensate, trying to pick up the last few shards of what he had perceived as his broken and bitter life.

But in the end, he had come to the conclusion that everything was futile and finally had just given up.

Stopped trying at all. Had completely burned out and let life stick him comfortably wherever he might go.

Heh. No wonder his marriage hadn't lasted. He was so pathetic. He hadn't even scarcely lifted a finger to try and save it. He could see the train wreck coming from a mile away, and instead of doing something about it, he had simply _allowed _it to end, because that was easier. He decided to run.

When she finally declared she was filing for divorce, he breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time felt indignant, like _he _had been the only one truly wronged, but this had only staved off the depression for a little while.

Zack became successful. Cody didn't bother trying anymore. As far as he was concerned, he just couldn't get what he wanted out of life.

_But what is it that I REALLY want out of life?_

And so on and so on the cycle continued.

He went as far as to come _here_, too, but now he was ready to run again, to just let the rest of his life fall apart, and deal later with an even more intense grief.

Back to the life he didn't want. But what would happen if he actually stayed and tried? He would probably die anyways. He literally had to decide right now which was worse: Hell? Or a painfully longer life full of apathy and misery?

Odd how in comparison, Hell almost seemed to be the sweeter sounding choice.

And here was this woman, crying on his shoulder now, who had lived a life more selfishly and vain than he, who was now exhibiting more guts than he had ever lived by, now willing to risk her very life, not just for revenge, but for a chance to do something right.

_"You can run away if you want."_

No. He couldn't do that. Not willingly. He couldn't leave this woman here all by herself with the probable literal demons of hell crawling all about, trying to solve an old, cryptic puzzle that held the keys to potential salvation or certain eternal damnation.

He knew now for a fact that he was probably going to die tonight. They were probably going to die together. Two more lost souls. Just two more, lost forever to the darkness and the ever shifting sands of time.

He leaned forward and kissed her deeply.

Her eyes went wide in shock, but she didn't back out of it, and even began to return it.

When they finally pulled away, she asked: "What did you do that for?"

"Because. You might be the last woman I ever have a chance to be with for the rest of my life. I just... didn't want to mess it up again this time."

"So you're not running?"

"No." he said.

"We might die tonight, but we're not going down without a fight. Whatever this thing is, it's been destroying people's lives for far too long, including taking the ones from us that we loved the most. We're not going to let it get away with that so easily."

There was a new resolve in his eyes that hadn't been there before.

Indeed, he was shocked at the way he now felt inside. Sure, maybe he was rushing headlong into his death, certain danger for sure, but he felt... good about himself for the first time in over a decade of his life.

He wasn't going back to his miserable, apathetic life. He was finally taking action and doing something about it. He was fighting back. It was going to be hard, but he was going to give it his very best shot, which is something he'd never done, never _really _done in his entire life. London was going to give it her best shot, too, and though the both of them might perish, they were not going to go down without a fight.

"We need to think outside the box." Cody said.

"There HAS to be a way to find that lyric. There just HAS too!"

"Grandfather's letter says that he lost one of the lyrics and it has to be divined with a special ritual."

"We'll have to be counting on the fact that he's done the setup and prior research so that we can just jump in and hopefully get the lyric."

Cody was skeptical, though. They would be basically using a form of fortune telling to get the final lyric. It didn't matter how drastically his faith in the supernatural had changed tonight, he still considered it an extreme stretch.

"If we could do it that way, then couldn't we find all the lyrics that way?" London asked.

"Doubtful. I would think that the ritual and setup would be completely different for each lyric. It would be too much research. I think if it were that simple, Mr. Tipton would have gone that route from the beginning."

He thought about it. And thought about it.

_There HAS to be a way._

Something seemed to register in the back of his mind.

_The ghostly paper that mysteriously appeared._

Why? Why had it appeared?

Because he was desperately seeking a clue?

Were there spirits from the beyond, being held captive by 'It', that had desperately sent out psychic energy to try and manifest their thoughts into the physical realm so he could see them and know where to look?

Truthfully, the extent of the supernatural psychic energy that seemed to be present here was of an undocumented level. It _could _possibly tip the scales in their favor if the energy itself was harnessed right.

But how exactly to harness it? Cody looked around the room.

_Something... I need something..._

Something like the metronome. He wasn't sure how the switching on the device had willed the paper to appear, or why he had felt beforehand the sudden bizarre premonition that he needed to turn it one, and he wondered if there were other objects in certain rooms that might respond to psychic prompts and point them in the right direction. He looked all about but didn't see anything.

"What are you looking for?" London asked.

"I don't know." Cody said, truthfully. "I was hoping I might find something, like the metronome that triggered the ghostly paper, that might be a clue, but..."

He thought hard.

A light bulb went off in his head.

Cody pulled out Zack's PDA, flicked it on, and cycled through the entries, till he found what he was looking for.

_Couldn't possibly be..._

"I think I've figured out a way!" Cody said. "We need to pay a visit to Maddie and Trevor's room, pronto! I think there may be something there we can use!"


	15. Ghost Hunters

**Chapter 12**

**Ghost Hunters**

The room was a sharp contrast to the other rooms they'd visited thus far. Cody didn't think he'd been near a more elaborate computer setup in his life. He could feel his long repressed inner geek rising up and salivating at the very look at it. It took up nearly an entire wall of the room.

Boxes were piled everywhere. Cody couldn't imagine where they had gotten all of this stuff. He had to resist the urge to go through all the boxes. He was a bit of a techno junkie, and he would have never heard of most of this stuff. If they survived, he would like to come back and spend several hours (or days) going through everything.

NYU had spared no expense for this expedition. All of the boxes were marked 'Hadden Technologies Inc.', a company Cody had never heard of before. Apparently, they must have felt there was a bigger market in supernatural detection technology than he thought, because Cody couldn't imagine that two student ghost hunters could possibly need or have the time to figure out how to use all of this equipment.

London didn't seem nearly as interested in the stuff as Cody was. In fact, she seemed downright bored. Cody couldn't imagine how someone could be bored around all this stuff.

One thing Cody couldn't resist was the urge to play around with the computer a bit. They were here to find something specific, but that could wait for a few minutes.

Cody was very intrigued to find out that the operating system was not Windows or any sort of operational system that he had ever seen. Hadden had apparently created their own. All of this equipment was created and customized by Hadden.

The main thing Cody was checking for was internet access, which, he was pleasantly surprised to find out that they had.

_So, we're NOT cut off entirely from the world after all._

Cody took the list of names from Mr. Tipton's list and ran a brief background check on each of them through several websites devoted to the Tipton.

He didn't bother with Betty and Edith as they'd already found their lyrics. It was Joanne Winters and Matilda Fly he was most interested in.

"This is interesting." he said as he pulled up Joanne's profile. London didn't act like anything about what he was doing was very interesting at all.

"There is no information on Joanne Winters at all, who she was, or where she came from. With the register the SWAT team took from the hotel they were able to trace and get a dossier on every single guest that went missing EXCEPT Joanne. Everyone else was able to be tracked down and accounted for, but there was nobody on file anywhere named Joanne Winters who was ever claimed missing by friends or family. It's believed it may have been a pseudonym and she was, in fact, someone else. There was a rash of major jewel heists that were happening all across the nation at around that time. Authorities were never able to catch the perpetrator. The last one was not very far from here at all. It happened shortly before everyone in the hotel vanished. After that, the burglaries stopped.""So, one of the people who had the lyrics we are looking for was a thief? I don't see how that matters to us."

"It matters a great deal." Cody said.

"Think about it. We would be dealing with someone who steals for a living, is used to hiding stuff that they've stolen really well, and is clever enough to have continually given authorities the slip. If Mr. Tipton gave her one of the lyrics, she could have hidden it well enough that it's MUCH harder to find than the others."

"So what are we supposed to do, then?" London said.

"She wouldn't have had time to take it out of the hotel. We know she never left because the robberies stopped after everyone vanished. It's here. It's just not out in the open. We might actually _have _to go through every thread with a fine tooth comb before we can find it, especially if Mr. Tipton convinced her it was something very important and she believed him enough to take him seriously."

"Or she could have thrown it away. Like I would have done." London said.

"I don't think so." Cody said. "I think Mr. Tipton was very selective with the people he gave lyrics too. He probably chose people he knew would hide them, and hide them well. Two staff members at least, and it's possible he knew or suspected something about Joanne Winters, enough to know that she would be skilled at hiding something well. At the very least, I doubt the guests he chose to give lyrics to were random at all."

"But if it _is _that well hidden, how do we find it?"

"I have an idea. That's why we're here. But first I need to check on a few more things."

"Can you hurry up? I'm bored. And we're losing time!"

"This could be very important to our search. Just give me a few more minutes." Cody said.

Next he pulled up Matilda Fly's profile.

He summarized aloud as he read it.

"The other one, Matilda Fly, was an up and coming actress, or so she fancied herself, who had had a moderately good career doing bit parts in plays, but on the night before the disappearances, she actually had her debut performance as a lead right here in Boston. Apparently, even though the play was a supposed to be tragedy, her performance was so over the top that it ended up coming off as a comedy rather than a tragedy.

The audience was laughing so hard that she stopped mid performance and began cussing them out before storming back to the Tipton, which is the last place she was ever seen or heard from again."

"Sucks to be her." London said. She was filing her nails.

"Being laughed out of her career on her biggest night, then coming here and becoming part of the biggest missing persons case in history." Cody said. "I feel kind of sorry for her. Don't you?"

"I guess." London said apathetically.

Moderately satisfied the brief research on his short list was completed, he toggled the internet off and began playing around with some of the other programs on the computer. One of them was a camera footage program that provided a feed of every camera Maddie and Trevor had placed around the hotel. It was actually kind of impressive. Cody hadn't noticed that many cameras while him and London were traversing through the hotel, but that's because they seem to have taken a hidden camera approach with most of them, for whatever reason.

They had actually covered a great deal of the hotel. They had maybe a third of the hallways of various floors, some guest specific rooms, the basement, the rooftop, among others.

Cody began quickly toggling through them individually, curious to see if he saw anything out of the ordinary.

The program seemed to be a bit glitchy, though. Some cameras seemed to have a flickering problem, where sometimes it would black out or get staticky for half a second before flickering back on.

_Or maybe it's not glitchy at all._

One of the images Cody toggled through flickered in such a way that made his blood run cold.

_Did I just see what I think I did? No... couldn't be!_

It flickered again, but he didn't see it this time.

Maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him. For a second there, he thought he had seen, when it flickered, the same room, but an entirely different room. He thought he had seen words and pictures all over the wall. But...

Cody took out his notepad and jotted down the number of the room: 3268.

Probably nothing, but...

"Did you find something?" London asked.

"I don't think so. Maybe. I don't know."

Cody flipped through the camera footage some more.

Footage of a hallway. The screen flickered. A shadow had appeared. Flicker. The shadow was bigger. Flicker. The shadow was bigger. Flicker. The shadow had vanished and everything seemed to be normal.

Cody flipped through the rest, but found nothing more of interest.

He closed out the program and booted up another program that caught his eye. It was a sound file program, the one Zack had mentioned on his PDA.

There was a list on the left hand side of completed sound files that Trevor had created. There were all sorts of switches and controls towards the bottom of the screen that could adjust a bunch of different things related to the sound frequency. Cody didn't know how to use them or what they all did so he decided he would ignore those.

Cody knew what he was probably getting himself into by clicking on the sound files. But he had to know. He was too curious to not find out.

Cody clicked on the first one. This was one that Zack had mentioned in his PDA. Lots of loud static, but there was the voice yelling out: _'GET OUT!' 'GET OUT!' 'GET OUT!' _over and over again.

London had nearly flipped out when Cody turned on the file.

"What is that?"

"Oh, sorry." Cody said. He pressed the stop button and turned the file off. "I'm just going through the sound files that the ghost hunters made on their computer during the days leading up to their disappearances. I'm actually looking for something specific."

"I don't like that. It freaks me out."

"There's something here I'm looking for. I read about it in Zack's PDA. I just want to hear it for myself."

Cody browsed down through the files. The files were only named by their dates, except for a select few like 'Get Out'. Cody noticed there was a file marked 'X'. He clicked it up.

It was one thing to have read about it, but actually hearing it for himself sent cold chills throughout Cody's body.

Clear as crystal, with absolutely no other trace of sound interference, was a man's voice chanting in a foreign language.

Cody thought at first that the reason he felt so unnerved was because he was hearing something that he had only before read about in Zack's PDA, but as he looked at London and saw that her reaction was about the same as his, he began to wonder if it was not actually _hearing_ the file itself, but in fact, something more aboutwhat was _in_ it.

"What _is _this?" London asked.

"Something the ghost hunters found when they recorded some sounds with their high tech equipment. Not audible to naked human ears, only audible if you tweak the sound settings in the computer just right."

"Is it normal to be able to record something like this?" London asked.

"No." Cody said. "This is physically impossible. At the very least, there should be other sound interference coming through. But nothing. Just this. Clear as day."

"Turn it off. It's scaring me."

Indeed, the voice was terrifying. By all rights, it shouldn't have been. It could have just been their listening to it in the midst of this specific situation, far away from anywhere that might be considered 'safe', but there was also something about the voice that felt demonic. It didn't _sound _demonic. But it was the feeling behind it. An unsettling, hypnotic feel of evil. There was something malicious behind this chanting, something that intended no good. Yes, the voice terrified you, but it was the something about it... something... you didn't know why, that even though it terrified you to your very core, and you wanted nothing more than to shut it off and run out of the room screaming and hide away somewhere very far, far away for days, but you couldn't, because there was something about the voice that made you _not _want to stop listening, and you just sat there almost in a trance, and the voice went on and on, and suddenly you didn't realize it, but the voice started repeating the same phrase over and over and over again, but you don't notice because you are almost hypnotized, yet it keeps repeating over and over again to where it's not just a sound coming from a computer, but getting _LOUDER _and _LOUDER_ almost BOOMING, and it's directed at you, and you can feel the room starting to fade away until all that's there is _YOU _and _IT, _and it feels like you are being sucked in and everything else begins to fade away and become distant until...

London shrieked.

_"CODY? CODY! FOR GOSH SAKES, JUST TURN IT OFF!"_

Cody suddenly snapped out of the trance that he hadn't realized he'd been in.

The sound on the computer wasn't the same anymore. It was a single untranslatable phrase, being repeated over and over again, but it was LOUD, not as in a volume-cranked-up-all-the-way loud, but loud as in you could not just _hear _it but _feel_ it, like it was getting inside your head, as if the chanting was specifically directed at you.

Cody panicked and tried to reach up to click it off, but he couldn't move. He was startled to realize he felt nearly totally paralyzed, as if he had been drugged, or been drinking and was now completely sloshed out of his mind.

Like one of those 'running' dreams, the ones where something or someone is coming after you, and you want to run, but you look down and are horrified to realize that your legs aren't moving, and you CAN'T get away, and it closes in and closes in on you...

_"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? SHUT IT OFF!"_

With every last bit of willpower he could muster, Cody slowly attempted to lift his hand. It felt like ice. Trying to maneuver his hand to the mouse and click the button felt like an eternity. Everything seemed to be spinning, and not just spinning, but fading out all together. Everything was blurring.

Cody felt the uncanny feeling like he was no longer in his body, but like he was suddenly seeing everything from an out of body perspective.

He could see the whole room all at once. He was _trying _to concentrate on what he needed to do, but it was growing harder by the second.

He could see the room, but it wasn't the same room they had been in. Symbols, pictures and words were fading in and out and flashing on the walls.

Cody found the mouse. He needed to find the button in the program in order to be able to close out the program, but everything was so... fuzzy... and he couldn't _find _the button. It wasn't _there._

_WHERE THE HECK HAD IT DISAPPEARED TO?_

_Trick. It's a trick._

Of course. Cody shakily maneuvered the mouse over to the part of the screen, the button wasn't there, but the moment he clicked, the program closed out and everything went back to normal.

It was like the effect of switching off a TV. Cody had to sit there for a second and regain his composure. London had an almost more horrified look than he did.

"There is a hole here." he found himself saying, without understanding why, yet completely understanding at the same time. London didn't ask him why he said it. Somehow, she too understood.

"Why didn't you shut it off?" she asked.

"I don't know. I felt strange. Like I was paralyzed. As if I was getting sucked in somehow. And I was hallucinating. Did it feel the same for you?"

"No..." she said. "Not exactly. There was something about it that frightened me and I started feeling like I was having a panic attack, and you were just sitting there, not moving, with a strange look on your face, and that was starting to freak me out, too... and you wouldn't respond... and..."

"I think we've had enough playing around with the computer." Cody said as he booted it down.

"I don't think it's just some unknown entity we have to watch out for. I think there is some kind of very strange psychic energy at work. The really bad kind. Dark psychic energy. Infecting everything in the hotel like a virus. We need to be _very_ careful what we touch or try to use from now on."

He thought back briefly to the telephone in the managers office and the strange voices on the other line.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" She asked.

"Oh, not yet. The computer wasn't it. I was just taking advantage of it to see if we could shed a little more light on the current situation. What I'm looking for is something else."

"What is it?"

Cody looked around the room. "It may be in one of those boxes. Let's start at opposite sides of the room and go through them one by one. We are looking for something that resembles nightvision goggles. It may not be in one of the boxes, so keep an eye out in case they are lying around somewhere."

"And you think they will help us find the lyric?"

"No. I think what they are supposed to do is total bull. But when I first came here tonight, I thought this was all total bull too, so I guess it's worth a shot."

She nodded. He took the area near the computer and started going diligently through the boxes. She did the same on the opposite side of the room.

Cody had never seen such a bizarre assortment of equipment in his life. He had no clue what half of this stuff was for. It looked straight out of a Ghostbusters movie. The thought kinda made him laugh. He wished he had time to peruse the instruction manuals and find out what it was all for, but that time they didn't have, so he repressed his inner urges and kept digging.

He was working on the third or fourth box of a tall stack to the left of the computer when he had a sudden strange hunch. He stood up, peaked over behind the boxes, and was surprised to see he had been right. The goggles were lying right on the floor.

"Found them." he said. He began removing boxes till he finally got to them.

London came over to join him. He picked them up and looked at them. They didn't look any different than any other standard nightvision goggles. The only noticeable difference he saw was that there were two antennae sticking up, one on each side. It was marked with a Hadden Industries, Inc. logo. He could see what was probably the power switch. There were also a few strange dials on the top. He wasn't sure what they were for, but he was about to find out.

He switched the power on and put them over his head. Looking through them, they were definitely not nightvision goggles. Cody could see the room exactly as it was with them off. There was the Hadden logo on the bottom left, and directly above at the top left were the words: 'Standard Mode'. There was a digitized reticle over a large part of the center of the screen.

Cody reached up and thumbed one of the dials. The reticle changed size as he turned it. Apparently this dial made it larger or smaller. Cody wasn't sure exactly what the purpose of that was. It could be made to cover the whole screen or covering almost nothing at all.

Cody reached over to see what other options he had and found a switch. When he flicked it, the glasses made a noise and 'Standard Mode' changed to 'ESP Mode'. Now the area outside the reticle area was the same, but everything inside appeared different.

It wasn't distorted or fuzzy, it just seemed like everything was off. Cody couldn't figure out if it was just the colors that were off (they were) or if there was something else. He reached over and found the other dial and began toggling it. The area inside the reticle began to shift from varying degrees of... 'offness'.

"See anything yet?" London asked.

"Not exactly..." Cody said.

He continued to turn the dial into position, and when he got to a certain point, the view inside the goggles fuzzed and distorted, startling Cody for a second, but it was nothing compared to when the focus returned. Now he could see the room through the reticle, clear as crystal, except what he saw made his blood freeze.

He brought up the reticle to where it filled most of the view.

"What the heck...?"

"Do you see something?"

He did see something. He couldn't believe _what _he was seeing. Old feelings of

_nostalgia?_

began to surface. He recognized what he was seeing. But he knew he shouldn't be seeing it at all.

The area inside the reticle was the same room. But it wasn't the same room at all.

The wall was covered with words and pictures.

_I LET IT IN_

_HELP US_

_ARTHUR_

_THE VOICE IS LETTING THE HOLE IN THE HOLE IS LETTING THE VOICE IN_

_SHADOWS? WHY SHADOWS? WHERE AM I?_

_THE PHONE IS TRYING TO DISTRACT YOU. BEWARE THE FALSE VOICES._

Crosses in various places on the wall, but scratched out. Some remained, but they were inverted.

_HE OFFERED HIS BLOOD TO US. THE SOUL PRICE IS A THOUSAND FOLD._

_GET OUT... GET OUT!_

_I FOUND SOMETHING. IT ALMOST GOT ME, BUT I FOUND SOMETHING. I SEE THE TRUTH OF EVERYTHING. MY GOD._

Strange, arcane symbols. Cody recognized various cult and alchemic symbols, along with some he didn't recognize.

_EVAEL EM ENOLA_

_LONDON TIPTON. THE BLOOD HEIRESS._

And on and on. Cody looked down and noticed that it wasn't just the walls, but the floor too. And as he looked up, indeed, there was writing on the ceiling.

Cody had no idea what he was looking at. To list every single word or bizarre phrase or picture would fill up an entire tome. What was this? What caused this? Psychic imprints left by the thoughts of those who were here before that?

No, not just that either...

_(even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death of the HOLE that is in this room, we are with you)_

_(he offered his blood to us)_

Everyone. Everything. Thoughts of people. Thoughts of concepts of things that had happened here. Thoughts of angels. Thoughts of demons.

Maybe they weren't really words at all. Maybe he was only seeing them as words, a form of something that could be translated. But why? Was something trying to communicate with them? No, that couldn't possibly be it.

Cody wondered if the thoughts of 'It' were on display as well.

London stood there staring at him, with a concerned look on her face. He looked towards her, caught it, realized he was probably making her worry, and pulled the goggles off.

He thrust the goggles into her hands.

"Put these on. Tell me if you see the same thing I'm seeing."

Apprehensively, she slowly put them on her head. Cody could see her sort of jump a bit.

"What IS all this?"

"My best guess is psychic residue. Of an extreme amount."

She took the goggles off.

"I'm sorry, but I can't handle this. This freaks me out too much."

Cody took them.

"Understandable. You okay?" he asked.

"I saw my name on the wall. Over there." she said, pointing to the spot where the words were invisible to the naked eye at the moment.

"It said..."

"I know. I saw it."

"What did it mean? The part about blood?"

"As much as the movies tried to exaggerate and pump up the whole 'devil worshipping' aspect to Mr. Tipton, now... one does wonder just what happened here to cause things to get this bad?"

"But, it wasn't really grandfather's fault, was it? It just kinda happened, right?"

"Nothing just 'kinda happens'." Cody said. "There was something already here, some sort of hole, but I have a sneaking suspicion it was sealed away a long time ago. That stone in the basement that gives off the lyrical sequence, I think, is what's supposed to keep it sealed. In order to unseal something like that, once would have to be deliberately dabbling in unnatural forces._"_

"But grandfather would not have done something like that!" London said indignantly.

"His letter said he wanted the temple kept a secret for some reason of his own that wasn't good."

"But if that were to be true," London said "then that would mean our family is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people!"

"Maybe not on purpose. He may have been dabbling around with stuff not realizing what he was getting into. But the fact of the matter is that something happened, something went wrong, and now the world is reaping the consequences."

"But he tried to stop it!"

"I'm sure he never expected that what happened would happen. The road to hell doesn't have to be paved with good or bad intentions. Sometimes it can be as simple as too much curiosity."

"Do you think I'm in more danger because I'm a Tipton?"

"I don't think you're in any more danger than I am."

"Maybe I will disappear first."

"Stop that. You're not going anywhere. Not if I can help it. We're both going make it out of this alive, okay?"

She nodded.

He put his hand tenderly on her cheek.

"You're going to be alright. Promise. We're going to make it through this together. I won't let anything happen to you."

He held up the goggles.

"I think this will be our ace in the hole. If we still have any time left. Let's go back and get that lyric."

They turned to leave the room, but Cody stopped and thought of something.

"What is it now?" London asked.

"I talked to Trevor on the phone. His spirit, anyways."

Cody thought it was kind of funny how he was able to say that semi-nonchalantly.

"Who's that?"

"One of the ghost hunters. I just remembered he told me to look for something. I wonder if it might be here."

Cody walked over to the kitchen area. London looked after him confused. Cody saw what he was looking for immediately. A small silver teapot. He opened the top. Inside was a piece of paper. He picked it up and unfolded it. Underneath was a small key. The key was different than any of the keys for the guest doors.

_I'm not going to make it. It almost got me. I was almost to our room when I ran into it. It was a shadow, but not like the rest of the shadows. This one was aware. It was waiting for me. It wanted me. Is this the enemy we've been in danger of this whole time? I knew, instinctively, that if I stood there for a second longer, it was over. I ran. I didn't want to lead it back to Maddie and Zack, so I took the stairwell and headed in the direction of the top floor. I would randomly dash into random halls and head for the stairwells on the opposite ends, to throw it off._

_I eventually made it to the topmost part of the stairwell, where the door to the roof was. I realized suddenly that I had come up too far. Stupid. If it had followed me up there, I know it would have gotten me. _

_But there was something else up there that I took notice of, that I hadn't paid attention to before last time I'd been up here. There was another door. Two doors to the roof? That didn't make sense. I tried to open it. It was locked. The keyhole was big enough to peek through, but I was surprised to see nothing but blackness. But then I had a strange hunch. I had my satchel with me. I usually keep it with me when I'm working. I fished out a piece of paper, stuck it under the door, took out a small screwdriver, and used it to knock the key blocking the keyhole out of it and onto the paper._

_The opening underneath the door was just enough of a gap to slip the key through. Inside the room, my God. I've never felt so horrified in my entire life. We're up against more than we think. There are some serious skeletons in Mr. Tipton's closet. Much more than anyone, even the media ever speculated on. If we're all dead, and I suspect we will be soon, and you are continuing the work, I know you are running out of time as we are, but you may want to take a look and see for yourself. It could make the difference in your fight, just as it would have for us if we had the time. Take the key. I locked it back up. I chanced heading back to our room. I need to get what I came for. Then I'm gonna go get Maddie and Zack, if they're still alive. Then we need to get out of here for awhile, maybe a long time. I... oh, crap. I can hear something. Whispering. Gotta go. Stay alive. Godspeed._

_- Trevor_

Cody and London had been reading it together. Well, London wasn't nearly as fast a reader as Cody, so he had to sum it up for her. When he was done, they exchanged looks of worry.

"Trevor's spirit told you about this?" she asked.

"Long story."

"What do you think we're going to find up there?"

"I don't know. From the sound of it, and what we already suspect of Mr. Tipton, I'm not so sure I want to know."

"Maybe we don't have time."

"No. But Trevor seemed pretty adamant that it could help. On the phone, he seemed like he was desperately trying to get across the location of this note and key. We might want to check it out."

"But the lyrics..."

"Know thy enemy." he said.

She gave him a look.

"Sun Tzu. The Art of War."

She looked even more confused.

"It's an ancient book on military strategy."

"Is it good?"

"It's one of the most famous books in the world."

"Oh."

"Basically, it's not just enough to charge at your enemy. You have to study, learn, and know how your enemy_ thinks _so that you have the upper hand when it comes to confrontation. In order to better confront our enemy, we should learn all we can. It might save our lives in a way we might have not figured out otherwise later."

"Should we go now?" she asked.

"Let's tackle the rest of the rooms on our list first. If the lyric trail gets cold, we'll check it out and see what we can find."

"OK."

They started off.

"Cody?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm so glad you're here. I don't know what I would have done without you. I'm not nearly as smart enough to figure all this stuff out."

He smiled. Maybe the first genuine smile he'd had in a long time.

"I'm glad I could be here with you."


	16. London's Greed

**Chapter 13**

**London's Greed**

Cody kept the goggles on as they walked down the hallway, up the stairwell, and through another hall to get back to 2011.

It was pretty much the same everywhere Cody looked. Words, phrases and sentences that seemed to follow no logical coherency were everywhere.

The stuff was as simple as what could be taken as the completely random thoughts of people, to the creepier and more twistedly demonic sounding.

_I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO JOHNNY HAS ANYBODY SEEN JOHNNY?_

_I SEE THE GATE_

_FORGETTING_

_BLOOD RUNS DEEP_

_IDIDTHIS ITSALLMYFAULT HAVETOSTOPIT TIMERUNNINGOUT WHY_

_SHE SAW ME_

_I'M STANDING IN FRONT OF HER DOOR I CAN SEE HER SHE CAN'T SEE ME._

Not all of them were in English. Some were in foreign languages that Cody recognized such as Japanese, French, and a few others.

Cody kind of jumped a bit the first time the words on the wall shifted. But soon he found he got used to it.

Sometimes, a phrase or several would disappear, and other things would appear elsewhere.

_HELP US_

_ICANTFINDMYWAYOUT SUCHAHAZE DARKNESS_

Without the goggles, the hotel appeared dead and deserted. With the goggles on, it was like it had transformed into a living entity. They were inside the entity, the words were pulsating veins, and they were not just in it, but one with its thoughts. The thoughts, though, were not of one single mind, but of many. Some of these minds may no longer be here. Others were the desperate pleas of lost souls. Others were demonic.

Cody had noticed something. In his dream, some of the writing on the wall had been the writing of the benevolent beings. The angels. Cody saw no evidence of any writing indicating that there was any sort of spiritual holy presence on these unhallowed grounds.

There were only the voices of the long past, the cries of the damned, and something decidedly more evil.

This world was something else, a variation in the normal equation of the universe. Here, there was no salvation nor hope. This was the one place in the world in which God and angels refused to tread.

_'EVEN THOUGH YOU WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE HOLE OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH THAT IS UNDER THIS HOUSE, THOUGH SHALT NOT FEAR EVIL, FOR WE ARE ALWAYS WITH YOU.'_

Except they weren't here. He was sure of that.

And if Satan were to come looking for them, he was pretty sure there would be no hope this time.

_Some things are worse than death_

There would be no resurrection. No second chance.

He had had his chance long ago. He could have chosen death, could have gone to heaven.

But he had been obsessed with becoming better than anyone else, of making his mark upon the world. Of growing up and validating himself to claim some unwarranted vengeance on his brother, and the world which he had perceived had wronged him. And now here he was. On a dangerous quest from whence there was no return, a quest that could very well lead him straight into the very bowels of hell.

Cody wasn't sure if he was glad or regretful he'd made that choice.

Maybe when 'It' finally got them, he would have a better chance to come to a specific conclusion.

"I can't understand why you want to keep those on the whole time." London interrupted his flow of thoughts.

"Easier to keep a more in depth view about what we are up against."

"Is it different out here?"

"Not really. Not so far."

They arrived at 2011. Cody opened the door. They walked inside.

The room was just as they left it.

Cody walked over and stood in the middle of the room.

He began glancing around the room, hoping that one of the phrases or thoughts in here would give some clue as to the location of the lyric.

The room was just like everywhere else, except...

_THEY ALMOST CAUGHT ME BUT THEY'LL NEVER CATCH ME HERE_

_STUPID WENCH SHE'S FIGURED OUT WHO I AM_

_MATILDA FLY. SO THIS IS THE GAME YOU WANT TO PLAY?_

_ALL A BUNCH OF FREAKS_

_YES I STOLE IT ALL BUT I HAD NO IDEA THAT I WAS GETTING MYSELF INTO SOMETHING LIKE THIS_

Cody continued to look around, more phrases, many pointing towards the truth of his theory about Joanne White, but nothing related to the LOCATION of the lyric.

_WHAT IS THIS? SOME KIND OF ANIMAL SKIN?_

Yes. So she had a lyric after all. But where is it?

"See anything?" London asked.

"Yeah, but, there's nothing to tell me where it is."

On the part of the wall situated in between the bathroom and bedroom, writing began to materialize:

_WHY ARE YOU HERE?_

Shocked, but wondering whether or not this might be a legitimate attempt to contact him, Cody found himself opening his mouth and responding.

"Are you... are you Joanne White, the jewel thief?"

The words faded and new ones appeared and took their place.

_WHAT'S IT TO YOU?_

London looked at Cody, then the wall, then back at Cody again, a little wide eyed.

"We're trying to stop the thing that took you. We know Mr. Tipton gave you a piece of animal skin with a strange symbol on it. We need that skin to stop it. Can you show us where it is?"

The words faded. Then...

_DOWN_

Cody looked at the floor.

An 'X' appeared on the floor in the center of the room, then moved over to underneath the couch.

Cody and London had checked underneath the couch before, but hadn't found anything.

But...

Cody took the goggles off.

"Help me move this. Quickly!"

He walked over to the couch, London following him and still giving him a weird look. He took no notice of it.

"Get on the other side and help me move this out of the way."

"Do you know where the lyric is?"

"Yeah. I think it's underneath here."

"But we already checked underneath."

He didn't respond, and together they lifted the couch and shifted it over to the next portion of the floor.

Cody kneeled down and took a close look at the floor, feeling it with his hands.

He could feel... yes! He could see it!

The carpet underneath had been cut. A large patch. He pulled it out.

There was wooden floor underneath. Cody reached into his pocket, pulled out a pocketknife, pulled out the appropriate blade, and pried one of the boards. It gave.

He lifted them up one by one. What was underneath was not to be unexpected, but still shocking nonetheless.

Yes, the lyric was there, but it was what was under the lyric that was so surprising.

Cody could not believe how much jewelry and cash there was.

London's eyes were as huge as saucers.

"So, she really WAS a jewel thief." London said.

"No kidding. Looks like she really did a number around here before disappearing."

Cody picked up the skin that had Frenic on it. The lyric resembled a square box with a long vertical line underneath and two horizontal lines crossing it, the higher one smaller than the other. Cody whipped out his notebook, crossed out the lyric, and wrote in 'Frenic' in its proper order.

He closed the book and was ready to head out when he saw that London had a handful of jewels.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, it's not like anybody's gonna need these anymore..."

"Put those back. This is wrong."

"Why? This stuff has been missing for years. They haven't been looking for this stuff in ages."

"But it's morally repugnant."

She gave him a weird look.

Cody sighed.

"Bad. Wrong. A no-no. Look, when this is all over, we need to turn this stuff in. Whether they're still looking for it or not, it doesn't belong to us."

"But what about finders keepers?"

"Fine. You know what? Just take it. See if I care. Don't you already own tons of jewelry?"

"Well, yeah. But I don't own THESE jewels."

"What was that you were saying before about wanting to change and be less materialistic?"

She looked at him, then back at the jewels, then back at him, and finally back at the jewels.

She let out a moan of frustration and slowly let them drop out of her hands back into the hole.

Cody nodded approvingly.

"Happy now?" she said gruffly.

Cody grinned.

"Our next stop is Mr. Tipton's second office. Let's hope we find something worthwhile."


	17. Mortym

**Chapter 14**

**Mortym**

Cody had the goggles off. He figured he'd save them for only when absolutely necessary from now on.

London was right. Having them on constantly was a total mindblow.

They stood outside 1723. Moment of truth. What would be in this room? Would it be fairly normal and mundane like Mr. Tipton's studio in his other room? Were the clues to the rest of the lyrics in here?

Cody took a deep breath and opened the door.

He was almost surprised. This was a little closer to what might have been expected of the man behind the legend.

On the left hand side of the room was a large, antique mahogany desk in an L shape, curving right where it hit the wall opposite the door. There was a large antique wooden video projector sitting on the left side of the desk, pointed at the wall.

There were several bookcases in here, one large one to the right side of the desk, near the door, and several more aesthetically spread out around the room.

But the main attraction here was the large table taking up much of the room. On the middle of it was a large bowl filled with water. Lines of chalk were drawn around it, and there were multiple strange objects in the form of symbols, all of different sizes and colors laying around it. Books were strewn all over the table, some were lying open.

Cody immediately recognized what they were looking at.

"This is where Mr. Tipton was trying to divine the last lyric."

"Do you think we can do it?" London asked.

Cody walked over to the table and sat down.

There were several books, all open to certain pages. Cody looked at them carefully. One of them was open to a diagram of some sort of occult symbol, and vocabulary Cody was not entirely familiar with around it on certain points.

Cody skimmed through the open pages on the other two. They seemed to be explaining theory about how to go about divining that which was lost, and going into the history and theory of the practice.

It would be a bit of a puzzle, but Cody thought that with enough time...

"I think I can do it. I just need to study this for a bit."

"MORE time to kill." London said disappointingly."It can't be helped." Cody said. "This is the only way."

In truth, it was not just out of concern for the short amount of time they might have left, a lot of it was that London simply did NOT sitting still for ANY period of time.

And it seemed like that was exactly that she was doing half the time. It was always Cody doing all the work, Cody was the one with the brain, solving the puzzles, finding the lyrics...

All she was doing was standing idly around while he went to work. Maybe she SHOULDN'T be here after all.

But wasn't it Todd she was here for? For vengeance? For redemption? But so far, it felt more like she was merely giving moral support for Cody's quest and just tagging along.

If she died, she would have thrown her life away in vain. She would have done nothing significant. She wanted to DO something, to help Cody, to speed up this process and make things go faster.

If only she had an idea of where those other lyrics were. She could be trying to gather them while Cody tried to figure out the rest of the puzzle.

But she didn't have Cody's brain. And he had the set of goggles. She hated looking through the goggles. It freaked her out.

So here she was. Contributing nothing, yet risking her life. Should she just leave? No. She must be brave. The Tiptons had been running all their lives. She couldn't run. She had to make a point. If she died, then screw them all. It was all their fault. Her father had never been there for her much anyways. Probably wouldn't even notice she'd been gone. Sometimes, she had called him up on the phone and he hadn't even remembered her name. Sometimes she...

She pushed it out of her head. She looked over at Cody. He was hard at work, leafing through the materials on the desk, that cute intense expression he liked to give when he was focusing on something really hard.

Well, while Cody was doing that, it wouldn't hurt her to have a poke around Mr. Tipton's desk.

Maybe she COULD find the other lyrics before Cody was done. Then she would have done something meaningful. She would not have to feel like a third wheel on this quest after all. She would have done something towards avenging Todd.

She walked over to his desk and began looking around. There was nothing conspicuous about the top of the desk, it was neat and tidy. There were several drawers underneath the desk.

She opened one. There were several papers inside. None of them looked important. London closed it and opened another drawer. Nothing there either.

London looked through all of them but couldn't find anything. Nothing that looked like a sheet of paper that could have been written on in invisible ink, nothing at all out of the ordinary.

Well, this was pointless. London looked back over at Cody again, who had several books in front of him, and was looking back and forth through them simultaneously.

London wondered how he'd react when she told him this room had been a bust too.

What if Mr. Tipton had other rooms? How did they really know it was just these two? Maybe there were many, some even far less obvious then these two had been.

She looked around. There were several pictures hanging above the desk.

It struck London that one of these could be a safe.

Operating on this new theory, she lifted one of the frames off the wall to take a peek behind it. There was no safe, but she was shocked to find a letter attached to the back of it.

Carefully, she took it off and put the frame back. She unfolded it:

_I'm done hiding. Even if everyone looks down upon me with contempt for the rest of my life, even if I am thrown in jail for it, I refuse to hide my sins any longer. You need to know the truth, whoever you are that is carrying on this work. The last of the lyrics will be easier to find than the others I've encoded, and I hope you've not had too much trouble with those. I've taken a risk by entrusting them with others, especially that jewel thief, but I know of no other course I could take. Maybe you were even lucky enough to happen across some of the decoy lyrics. _

_It is watching you, even now. It does not know what you are doing. It is confused by your actions. But once it has even the slightest inkling, you will be in even more danger than ever before, and the lyrics as well._

_Lussa is in the front checkout desk. I've hidden it in a small lockbox in the desk. The key is in a small envelope in the same drawer. Malus is in the 2nd floor bathroom. Keep a sharp eye. Mortym is in this office. Turn on the projector, use Slide C. I have given Raka to a close friend of mine, Andrew Verney, who resides on the top floor in 3179. Kars can be found by using a pair of binoculars and looking up at the first floor on the front of the building. Larsus is hidden in the safe in my office. Use combination 1-3-2-5-4-7. Finally, you will find Oliviak in my journal, in my secret room next to the roof entrance. I know you must be pressed for time, but please do try and read through it, if you get the chance. I want someone to know. Someone must know. I cannot take the guilt of hiding it any longer. What I did. I do not care if I am even punished at the bottom level of hell for all of eternity. I deserve it. But I just want someone to know._

_You'll see when you enter the room anyways. _

_Sincerely, George_

London looked up. Cody still had his nose stuck in those books. He wasn't paying attention to her.

The projector was sitting on the very left side of the desk, pointed at the wall. London examined it. She wasn't exactly sure what she was doing, but there was a panel that opened on the side, and inside there was a slot with something sticking out. London pulled it out. It was a type of slide, and had 'Slide A' written on it.

There was a switch sitting close to it on the right of the projector. Probably the 'on-off' switch.

Okay. So she knew how to work it. But where was the correct slide?

She looked around on the desk. To the right of the projector was a wooden box.

London opened it, and was pleasantly surprised to find all the slides there.

This was going well. She replaced Slide A and selected Slide C.

She carefully placed it in, closed the panel, and flicked the switch.

Cody was startled when a flash of light suddenly lit up the wall behind him.

He looked at London, then the wall, then back at London again.

"London! This is no time for playing around! Turn that off! I can't work with that blaring in my face!"

"If you would look for just one second, dummy, you'd realize what you are looking at!" London said, a little agitated at the outburst.

Cody looked at the wall.

It was a well-done drawing of a man standing with a bag or something in his hand.

Cody didn't get it.

"I don't get what this has to do with anything." Cody said.

"Look CLOSER!"

Cody looked, all around the picture but still didn't seem to be getting it.

"Are you REALLY the smart one or not?" London asked.

Cody was looking as hard as he could but still couldn't see anything.

A man, wearing a hat, a jacket, holding a bag with some sort of flower-looking symbol on...

Wait.

It was like a flower, the bottom was a cross, the top was a circle with a line going down the middle.

Cody's face lit up in shock.

He recognized it as one of the lyrics he had penned in his notebook.

He looked at London, who was grinning ear from ear.

"You see it? I just found Mortym for you!"

She savored the look on his face for a second.

"And not just Mortym!" She held up the letter from Mr. Tipton.

"I've know where all the rest are!"

"London, wow... I can't believe... holy crap."

"You may want to take a look at this letter when you get the chance."

"I will." he rose from his seat.

"Wow. I can't believe this. I was getting worried we'd never find them, but... do you know what this means?" he said.

She nodded, smiling.

"It means we actually have a chance!" Cody said excitedly.

London's smile turned a bit serious.

"Cody. I've been thinking about something."

"Hm?"

"Let me find the rest of the lyrics while you're here. I think I've already done well by finding this one, and we could move a lot faster if both of us are working together."

Cody's face turned into a frown.

"I don't know. We weren't supposed to split up. I mean, if anything happened to you, I... I just don't want to risk losing you."

"Cody, we're almost out of time. If this thing starts coming after us after a certain amount of time has passed, we both lose. It might be better this way. I'll go as fast as I can. I'll come right back when I'm done."

Cody's face had an unconvinced expression. Still, he had to admit to himself, she did have a point.

All he could think about though was what if she didn't come back. If she disappeared, he wouldn't even know about it. He would be waiting, and waiting, and time would be elapsing...

"Look, one of these lyrics is in the front desk. That will be easy to find. And another is hidden in a bathroom nearby. I should have little trouble with those. I'll go grab those real quick, and check back in with you."

Cody still felt apprehensive, but he knew that her plan was right. They didn't have much time and they were going to have to pull their weight together to make this work.

"You have a cell phone?"

She looked downcast. "I do, but I forgot to charge it before I came here. It's dead."

Crap. If only they had some walkie-talkies they could use to stay in contact with each other. Cody wondered if there might be some in Maddie and Trevor's room, but they would kill even more time trying to go back and look.

"Okay. Look. We'll go with your idea. We split up. Here, give me that letter real quick."

Cody spent five minutes carefully skimming it, pulled out his notebook, tore some pages out, and began jotting down on several blank pages.

While he was doing so, he wrote 'Mortym' in his and scratched out the symbol.

He tore the extra pages he'd been working on out and handed them to London, along with a pen.

"We now have the exact same notes. If anything happens to either one of us, at least there will still be one of us around to finish the work. Since Lussa and Malus are close by and should be fairly easy, fill those in real quick. Meet me back here EXACTLY after you've found them. If things start to get weird, come back here on the double. If you don't think you can make it and the room number I've written down is closer, go there instead and lock yourself in. Trust me."

She nodded.

"Okay. I'll do exactly as you say."

"London?"

"Yeah?"

"Good luck."

She nodded. There was nothing more to be said. London turned, pages in hand, and walked out the door.

Cody went back to the desk and sat down. He thought he was beginning to get the basis of the concept of this ritual down, but it would still take time.

He was still scared. He was even more worried now with London being gone.

But they had a chance. Cody only prayed they had enough time actually left.


	18. London's Quest

**Chapter 15**

**London's Quest**

(1)

London stepped out of the room and into the hallway. For the first time since she'd met up with Cody, she was now completely alone.

She remembered how she had felt when she had first arrived here. She had been scared, but not that much.

She was gullible, but also a bit skeptical. She had stopped believing in ghosts and stuff like that somewhere around when she hit 22. She believed again now.

She had always had a child-like mind, and she knew it. She'd always seemed to be way behind others when it came to mental age.

It was Todd who had caused her to see this and to help her to begin growing up. Todd was the one who had dragged her out of her self-absorbed bubble and helped her start to feel more like a woman. Because she began to feel that way, she slowly began to turn into one.

But growing up can be a very harsh thing. The fantasy world you've been living in as a child, or in her case, as a teenager all the way through young adult, comes crashing down as you realize that you've come to a point where you have to stop having "fun" so much and "get with the program" and learn how to work in the real world.

Of course, she was rich, so as far as she was concerned, she never REALLY had to worry about anything else in her life other than shopping, partying, more shopping, sleeping till the crack of noon, never having to do anything other than be an heiress and have life hand to her everything she needed.

But that was not reality, was it?

Yes, Todd had helped her to see this.

Of course, who could blame her for wanting to live in a fantasy world?

She had never known her parents hardly at all. She had barely known her mother. As far as she was concerned, her mom was just another charm on her bracelet.

She had been the result of her father's third wife, out of many. Her father had a habit of regularly forgetting to invite her to the wedding (it didn't matter, he had several weddings a year anyways), and he would try to "make it up" to her by sending her another "I'm-sorry-I-accidentally-got-married-without-telling-you" charm that she would add to her bracelet. She ended up not wearing the thing altogether. There were too many charms and the thing had gotten too heavy. Her real mother had split with her father only a few years after the marriage had began. Usually, a few months was about the maximum that her father tended to stay married to any woman. When her mother had left, she hadn't taken London with her.

She barely saw her real mom much growing up. She wasn't honestly sure what her real mom even looked like anymore.

Yes, her mom hadn't cared for her. London had a sneaking suspicion she had been an accident. She might have wondered if her father loathed her for existing if she wasn't certain that he just plain didn't care.

She grew up alone in one of her father's mansions. The only people she had to have show any attention to her were the house staff, and they were too busy with their own work to be able to spend much time with her at all.

For kindergarten, she had been homeschooled. For first grade, she had been sent off to a private school for rich kids. She never really got along well with the other kids, and school was boring to her. She just didn't fit in.

In high school, she had started skipping out. She was rich and famous, and to compensate for the incredible loneliness of the world she lived in, she embraced the celebrity lifestyle. Jetting off around the world, endless shopping, parties, tabloid articles...

The only socializing she did was around other people of equal or higher social status than her. It wasn't about friendship, just social status. She never had any _true _friends or anyone in her life who significantly cared about her.

Her father never cared. Honestly, she barely even saw his face except for several times a year. There had been many times in which he'd promised to come down and spend the day with her. Many times he had said that he regretted not being there for her and wished he could be a better father.

He never really meant it. He never showed up when he promised. It was always the business. The business took priority over everything. The business took priority over family, relationships, love, and even the well-being of others.

London was aware far more than the public as to just what extent of some of the lives her father had utterly destroyed. Sometimes she had even called him up on the phone, and he had acted like he had completely forgotten who she was!

She had loved her father when she was a kid, when she was young and naive. As she became a teenager, she loved her father, but resented the way he made her feel. As an adult, she realized clearly just what a horrible person her father was, and she hated him immensely for it.

She would probably hate her mom just as much too, if she had actually been in her life more. Actually, her mom abandoned her and couldn't care less about her either, so maybe she DID hate her mom too.

But the world of the rich, famous hotel heiress, that was HER world. That was the world in which she was on top of things, and none of the negative things, the hurt nor pain of the regular world, could come in to touch her.

But, of course, she would have to live in the real world someday. School was the real world. Inheriting the Tipton empire someday was the real world. The business.

Of course, she could refuse to take over, and the company would be turned over to someone else. But then she would no longer be rich. She would no longer be a celebrity. The real world would still invade, and reality would be even harsher.

Pick your poison. Which was the lesser of two evils?

Yes. Someday she would have to stop running away from the pain and hurt. Someday she would have to face herself, and her fantasy world, that sweet, wonderful escape upon which she had relied upon to keep the pain away most of her life, would cease to exist. She would have no more sanctuary to run to.

What would she do then? She thought that she might have a nervous breakdown.

She didn't consider herself a suicidal person, or the sort of person ever capable of such a thing, but she saw what happened to other celebrities sometimes and she wondered, would she snap someday too?

Todd was the anchor that had tried to pull her out of her fictional reality and help stabilize her.

Todd was the only person who had ever made any sincere attempt to be a part of her life, and without any sort of ulterior motive or sychophantical attachment.

He saw her flaws, and her hurts, and he didn't judge her for any reason whatsoever. He was always there for her, no matter what. He was committed to doing anything he could to help her.

True, they had come from similar backgrounds, so they had an automatic connection, but they were vastly different enough in many ways to attract.

London had felt, for the first time in her life, that reality might not be so bad after all.

Even if she had to be pulled out of her fantasy reality permanently, as long as Todd was by her side, she felt that she would be okay.

But Todd was gone now. Dead. All because of this family secret. Her fault, too.

She found now, that she didn't just hate her dad or her mom, but her entire family as well.

Something like this has been going on for so long, and NO ONE had thought of lifting a single finger to do anything about it.

And now it had taken away from her her only chance at happiness.

The only one who was doing anything at all about it, the only person SINCE her grandfather who had tried to sincerely do anything about it, was Cody.

Cody had lost someone important, too.

But Cody wasn't running. He was pressing on in spite of the mortal danger. London admired him. She thought of their kiss.

No one, NO ONE, in London's mind would ever replace what she and Todd had shared, but she began to wonder.

Did she NEED Todd, Todd specifically, to achieve the happiness she desperately needed? Or could...

She tried to push the thought out of her head. She felt guilty for thinking about it. A mental image of her and Cody, her in a white wedding dress and Cody in a black tux, standing before the alter while the pastor was asking Cody if he would take her and if she would be his lawful wedded wife...

No, no. Too early. Can't think about that. Can't ever think about that. Might die tonight.

_He kissed me_

No, no. Besides, if they WERE successful, hadn't Cody suggested it might still be possible to actually save everybody? What then? Would she actually get Todd back? Or would his soul simply ascend into the afterlife? Would they be joining Todd and Zack's brother and grandfather and everyone else soon?

No, no.

London was on a mission. A very important one. Now was not the time to be thinking about these things. They had much more important fish to fry.

These thoughts could come later, if she would dare so allow herself to have them later on.

(2)

London entered the lobby, and came almost to a dead stop. Yes, it was empty, but she felt the same aliveness as she had when her and Cody had been in the dining room. Except, it felt more alive now than even before. She was now more certain than ever that they were running out of time. A shadow appeared, a large one, in just a fraction of a second, and moved across the lobby past the manager's desk, right before suddenly vanishing.

The appearance of it freaked London out, but she remembered Cody's words. They had nothing to fear from the shadows. Only the source of the shadows itself. But it was still very unnerving. London felt like she was in mortal danger.

Maybe it had not been so wise to come out here, but they really had no choice. London wondered how Cody was faring in divining the last lyric. She crossed over to the manager's desk and opened the first drawer behind the counter she saw.

Yes. Here was the lockbox. She dug around a bit more. There was the envelope. She opened it. Inside was the key.

So far, so smooth. Just...

_*BANG*_

She was so startled she nearly dropped the key. She looked all around the lobby with paranoid eyes, but saw nothing.

_*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*_

Each bang came from a different part of the lobby. The last one had been right above her, and that REALLY freaked her out.

But there was nothing there.

Was she in danger?No, they were simply crossing over more and more into... whatever this other world was, the one that looked like theirs, but was not their own and was considerably more dangerous.

But as they began to further cross the threshold, things that would not normally be allowed to interact with their world would be to be allowed in.

It was trying to distract her. Yes, that's what it was doing. Nothing was coming after her yet.

Trying to gather her nerves, she took the key and stuck it in the lock.

The phone rang.

The shrillness of it made London jump yet again.

She was having so much adrenaline rushing through her veins she was certain if she had much more she might have a heart attack.

The phone continued to ring. It was coming from the other side of the desk. She slowly walked over and was surprised to see it laying on the ground, pulled OUT of the wall. Impossible! It couldn't be ringing. It wasn't even connected to the phone line!

Cautiously, she reached down to grab the receiver.

She picked it up and placed it to her ear.

_"London?"_

She nearly choked when she heard Todd's voice.

_"London, you there?"_

"Todd?" she replied, feeling warm tears suddenly begin to well up on her voice.

_"Listen to me, London. I want you to get out of here RIGHT now!"_

"No, Todd. We're here. Me and Cod... Zack's brother. We're trying to stop it!"

_"Yes, I see what you are doing with that ass-faced player. I saw you making out in Joanne's room."_

A sharp panic began to rise up in her belly. Oh, God. She couldn't believe he had seen that. She hadn't even realized he was watching her!

"No, Todd! That's not what it was about, we...!"

_"How long has this been going on? Did you do him yet?"_

"No, Todd! We're nothing like that! We just met here, we're trying to save you!"

_"Yeah, I see how you're 'trying to save me'. I don't want to be saved by a slut like you. You're nothing more than a two-timing whore."_

Heavy tears were beginning to stream down London's face. His words struck her far worse than anything her daddy had ever said or done or ever could.

"Todd! How could you say such things! You know I've only ever had anything for you when you were alive...! I thought we... we...!"

He spoke, his voice taking on a far more malicious and menacing tone.

_"I don't know what I ever saw in you. My dad was right about you. I can see it now. No wonder your daddy never loved you. No wonder your mother left. They knew it from the moment you were born. They could never deal with the fact that they were raising a total slut-whore loser. You should go out right now, take a gun, point it to your head, and blow your brains right out, because that's all you will ever be good for. You didn't even lift a finger to try and come to the hotel until I left! I sacrificed my life for you! For your family's mistake! And what thanks do I get? You come here with that man, start making kissy face, and fantasizing about banging his brains out! Oh, I see the thoughts you were thinking about him, now that I'm out of the way! You should be dead! I hate your guts! You ought to die! I wish I could be there so I could kill you myself."_

She had been weeping profusely, but the more the voice went on, the more a dawning of realization began to come over her, and she slowly stopped crying, and spoke in response to the voice on the other side of the phone:

"You're not Todd."

Now when the voice came back, it was indeed not Todd's, but something far more demonic, and it was yelling at her:

_"LONDON TIPTON, THE BLOOD HEIRESS. WE HATE YOUR GUTS AND WE ARE GOING TO FIND AND KILL YOU AND THAT OTHER MEDDLER TOO. YOU CAN'T STAY SAFE FOREVER, YOU BITCH."_

London freaked and grabbed the whole phone and threw it at the wall. It broke and fell to the floor in several pieces. The phone, though busted and now off the hook, started to ring again.

London shrieked and began stomping on the phone. What a day to be wearing high heels. But she didn't care.

The phone continued to ring. She glanced over at the desk, saw a hammer someone had left sitting underneath, grabbed it, and started smashing the phone to smithereens.

She was certain she must look like an absolute crazy woman right now, and indeed, at this point in time, she was, but she did not stop until the thing was entirely decimated. It stopped ringing.

London threw down the hammer, stood up, and tried to compose herself. There was nothing but stone silence in the lobby.

_But the place still felt alive._

London knew. It was trying to distract her. It was trying to make her waste time.

She would have to be more careful from now on.

She had come down here for one simple thing. How had it turned to this?

Extremely large amounts of adrenaline were pumping through her bloodstream right now, but there was no time to rest and let it settle.

She was on a mission. Her and Cody were almost out of time.

She walked over to the lockbox which still had the key sticking out of it, and opened it up.

The parchment with Lussa was there.

The symbol looked like a 1 laying on its left side, with a small vertical slash going through it on the right hand side.

London pulled out the pieces of paper Cody had given her, scratched out the symbol, and wrote the translation in its appropriate place. One down.

Next was the one in the bathroom. London closed up the lockbox and closed the drawer.

As London headed off to the second floor bathroom, she tried to compose her shot nerves.

She also wondered to herself, what would Todd _really _think if anything happened between her and Cody? Would he be upset? Happy for her? Was she doing something wrong? Was she a despicable person? She still loved Todd with all her heart, and would have taken him back in a heartbeat, but should she feel guilty about the way she had been feeling tonight?

She tried to push these thoughts away as she tried to focus on her quest. The night wasn't even close to being over.


	19. Malus

**Chapter 16**

**Malus**

(1)

Cody studied the pages of the books in front of him intently. He was beginning to somewhat understand the theory behind it. He couldn't really believe he was reading stuff like this in the first place. This wasn't scientific theory. This was occult literature. Fortune-telling. Speculative stuff. The kind of stuff that gets you thrown OUT of academic circles for even thinking about taking this kind of stuff seriously.

But based off the things he had seen and experienced tonight, Cody had begun to have no doubt it was worth taking it seriously.

As far as Cody could understand from the text he was reading, the chalk circle, the bowl of water, and the symbol objects of different sizes, shapes and apparently, different base materials such as copper, chalk, bronze, silver, ect. were supposed to somehow metaphysically interact with the psychic waves connecting the physical to the spiritual realm, and a fortune teller would be able to speak what had been lost, peak into the bowl, and would be able to psychically divine the answer. Cody was not a psychic, at least, he didn't think he was, and he really didn't understand how this was all really supposed to work. He felt it was all kind of stupid.

But here he was, his mind in full blown scientist mode, trying to analyze everything he was reading into scientific meaning so that somehow he could hopefully find what he was looking for.

There seemed to be different ways of arranging the symbols based off of what you were trying to divine. Even the chalk line had to be drawn a specific way, and upon checking, Cody saw that Mr. Tipton had done it right.

You had to meticulously place the objects on exactly the right spots. Slightly off, and it wouldn't work. Cody had to wonder just who the heck had all the time to try and spend figuring this kind of stuff out.

He wondered how London was doing. He hoped she was okay.

He knew, though, that he had to focus and couldn't afford to let his mind wander too much. He also had to resign himself to the fact that however hopeful things looked right now, it wasn't a guarantee that either or both of them would come out of this alive.

He wondered how he felt about her. He had meant nothing specific by the kiss, or did he?

Maybe it was because she was the last female he would ever have the chance to kiss, maybe it was just the stress, or maybe he had just been on a new high from his recent emotional breakthrough.

If they did get out of this alive, he wondered what would become of them?

Cody didn't see London Tipton as being realistically the "missing piece" to his life he'd long dreamed of having.

But he had seen Barbara as that piece, and how had THAT worked out? He had tried to see a number of other girls as that piece, and how had THAT worked out?

Cody knew that it was probably better that he didn't, but he found himself fantasizing quite a bit about what _could _happen to them.

Would the only positive out of this whole situation be that he finally get his "white-picket fence" dream?

Except with London, it would be more like a "white-picket-mansion" dream. The thought of the absurd mental image made Cody laugh out loud.

Of course, if everyone were to somehow come back, which Cody didn't think was very likely at all, then Todd would come back, and he would be pushed out of the picture once again.

But that was fine with him.

Cody would have Zack back. Cody knew, that when it came down to it, if he had the choice, he would rather have his brother back in a heartbeat.

Besides, his reasoning for wanting a woman had been nullified out of existence. He didn't NEED a woman or anyone else to validate his existence or fulfill him.

If he got married again, he wanted it to be for love, because it just happened, not because he made it happen, but for something far more meaningful and beautiful than selfish egotistical comfort.

He would still date around, probably, but it wouldn't be anything like it had been before.

Cody hoped London was okay.

He turned his mind back to his studies. He needed to focus. He thought he almost understood the pattern. Not long now.

(2)

London stepped into the bathroom.

It felt like a freezer.

She shivered.

It hadn't been like that out in the hallway. It wasn't cold outside. It was in the middle of freaking summer!

Could a thermostat have been busted? No, that wouldn't make any sense. It would be cold in more than just here.

London wondered if she should be concerned, but the bathroom was deserted. There was nothing out of the ordinary except for the temperature, and the fact that she saw Malus as soon as she entered.

It was impossible to miss. Mr. Tipton had apparently chosen to vandalize the mirror on the wall and etch the symbol right into it. Very unexpected and interesting way to "hide" it.

It resembled a vertical line with an 'X' towards the top, and it connected to a horizontal line underneath, which had two circles, each on one end of it.

London pulled out her pages, crossed off the symbol for 'Malus', and wrote its name in the correct sequence.

Now they had only four left.

London looked up from her writing. She nearly screamed.

The mirror was different. While it had been completely clear when she entered the bathroom, a strange fog like mist seemed to be rolling over the mirror, INSIDE the mirror, and completely enveloping it.

It did this until she couldn't see anything through the mirror, except for the strange, heavy, purplish mist.

London knew that she needed to get out of there on the double. But she was transfixed by the whole thing.

Was this another distraction? Was she about to die?

She glanced around the bathroom paranoid, but nothing else seemed to be in there with her.

It lingered there, then Malus caught fire.

London gasped and watched in shock as the symbol came ablaze, but nothing else around it.

Her first instinct was to look around and find a fire extinguisher, but only the symbol was on fire.

Then there was a strange noise, almost like someone was scratching a chalkboard with something sharp, but it was more than that, it sounded like a type of wailing and screaming.

London watched as the symbol, even though it had been CARVED into the mirror, turn black, and begin SHRIVELING UP.

The flames suddenly exploded and engulfed the mirror, eliciting another loud gasp from London, and for a second, she thought that the rest of the hotel WOULD catch fire, but the flames were suddenly sucked INTO the mirror, and then it was no more.

No more fire. No more mist. No more symbol.

London remembered from her grandfather's letter in which he mentioned the last lyric that Cody was now trying to find:

_It has already destroyed the research I was using to find the last one, and I don't think there are many copies of the manuscript left anywhere in the world and I wouldn't find another one in time._

It had destroyed the research to one of the lyrics. Did she just witness a lyric being destroyed right now?

London wondered if the rest of the lyrics were still intact.

If she had only been here minutes later, she might have been tearing this place apart, and there would have been nothing to have been found.

Yes, splitting up had been the right thing to do. They would probably have to keep it up from this point on.

London looked at herself in the mirror. She looked haggard. Not a look she was used to seeing herself. She looked, and thought for a split second she was not looking at herself as she was today, but as an old woman.

The mirror frightened her. She wasn't sure why. But she was scared to death of it. Maybe only because of what she just saw. She wondered, was there something on the other side of this mirror watching her? Wanting to snatch her away?

She needed to turn around and run. There was still important work to be done, and she felt that after what she had just seen she _couldn't possibly _be safe at all lingering around here.

But she found herself slowly walking up to the mirror and looking at it closely.

Just a mirror. Nothing more.

Behind her, the wall began to bleed.

She shrieked and looked behind her.

There was nothing. It was just a bare wall.

She looked back into the mirror. Yes, there was a trickle of blood going down the wall, flowing down from the ceiling.

She glanced toward the ceiling in the mirror. A gigantic splotch of blood was beginning to form on it.

More trickles of blood appeared on the wall behind her.

She looked back at the wall, then at the ceiling, but they were completely normal. She turned around to look at the mirror and jumped.

The words _'BLOOD HEIRESS' _were written in gigantic, (blood) red letters on the mirror.

In the mirror, her mirror self was no longer matching her movements. It had stopped completely, standing there in a solid pose, glaring at her intently, with cold, red glowing eyes.

Blood started running down mirror London's head. Real London was getting very freaked out right now. She wanted to run, but she gasped as she realized her legs wouldn't move. She looked down. Her legs felt like jelly. She tried to will them to move, but she didn't feel right. She looked back up.

Mirror London reached out for her.

Real London flipped and turned to bolt for the door, except that when she whirled around, her feet almost gave out from under her completely.

She felt drunk. Really drunk. Completely wasted. The entire room was spinning and blurring around her.

Everything was starting to feel so far away. So distant.

She willed herself to begin to move. It was a very slow process, she felt like she was slogging through quicksand.

The fear in her acted as strength to keep her pressing forward. Everything seemed to be spinning.

Now at this point, she could have sworn she really WAS in that bathroom on the other side of the mirror.

The walls seemed to be bleeding.

London screamed, but she could barely hear her own scream. It sounded very far away.

She continued making slow progress towards the door.

London remembered the nightmares she had used to have as a kid, the ones that everyone gets at some point or another.

Something or someone is chasing you, something horrific, and you want to run, but you can't. You can't even get your legs to move. And it comes, closer... and closer...

London fell to the ground yet again. She chanced a glance behind her.

Mirror London was beginning to slowly crawl OUT of the mirror.

London freaked out, and with all the strength she could muster, began crawling towards the door frantically.

She forced herself to begin to stand again, though it was very hard. She could barely move. She felt _really _drunk now.

She managed to get herself back onto her feet, and carefully forced herself to keep moving.

She looked behind her.

Mirror London was hanging down from the mirror, her legs still inside, but her hands touching the ground. She was slithering out of it like a snake. And when mirror London looked up at her, with her blood soaked face, it grinned, and shot a forked tongue out of its mouth. London turned away and resolved to look back no more. She was almost at the door.

She took a few more large, hard steps, and burst through the door into the hallway.

It was the kind of sudden change that you get when you're swimming underwater and you come up out of the water back to the outside world.

The disorientation and drunken feeling vanished. London turned around and SLAMMED the bathroom door shut behind her.

The hallway was normal.

Everything seemed as it should be. London could move perfectly and think clearly now. There was nothing out here to be worried about. Yet.

Purplish mist started seeping through the crack underneath the door.

London felt the relief she had felt vanish.

She knew she should run, but...

_Think, London, think. What would Cody do?_

She had an idea, but she didn't have anything to...

She pulled out the pen Cody had given her. It was a fine tipped ball point pen. It would probably do well enough.

London uncapped it and began drawing a Judeo-Christian style cross over the door.

The moment she connected the last line, the drawing began to radiate a bright light where she had sketched it.

London looked at it, shocked, and there was a horrible shriek right behind the other side of the door. The mist started being sucked back underneath the door. The light of the cross continued to glow brighter and brighter until there was another loud shriek, this time from further back in the room, and the light began to slowly fade.

Then, there was only silence.

London could barely catch her breath.

This was supposed to have been a quick, simple operation to get the two easiest lyrics.

Instead, she had just had two of the most horrific, traumatizing experiences of her life.

This place wasn't a hotel. It was like a depraved funhouse.

Just how many twisted, horrible things were running around in this place anyways? What would be around the next corner?

London knew it had almost got her.

The mirror. It was like some kind of portal into the Otherworld, and London knew she had almost gotten sucked in.

But they were slowly getting sucked in anyways, as long as they remained here.

They didn't have much time left. London wondered just how horrifying things would end up getting once they had almost fully crossed over but weren't dead yet.

She turned and ran, not walked, back to room 1723 where Cody was still hard at work trying to divine the lyric.

(3)

Around the chalk circle, numerous objects had been placed. But nothing was happening.

Cody was puzzled. He was sure he had put them in the correct sequence as outlined by the book.

He glanced back at the diagram, his notes, the translations for the various pieces...

Oh!

He saw what he had done. He had put copper and bronze in each other's spots.

Cody picked them up off the chalk line and placed them in their correct positions.

Okay. He was about to try this again. Truthfully, he didn't have much hope for this, but he sighed, looked into the basin, and spoke aloud:

"I need the last lyric. I don't know what it looks like, or what it's called, but it's not in the hotel. I need to see it. Please show it to me."

Nothing seemed to be happening. Cody was looking straight into the bowl.

Great. This operation was a total bust. He guessed he'd have to go back to his notes again and give it one more try, but...

He couldn't move. He didn't know why, but he couldn't move. He was beginning to freak out.

The basin. He noticed that it seemed much bigger than before. In fact, it seemed to be getting bigger! Like the whole room was beginning to fade away, and all that was there was the basin, and he felt himself being pulled into it, and he was falling... falling... to a destination of which he knew not where.

The rest of the world faded away.


	20. The Past

**Chapter 17**

**The Past**

Cody felt like he was falling through a never-ending tunnel. Down, down... everything was spinning. Disorienting. It wasn't like the feeling of falling from a great height. It was more like the kind of falling you might experience in a dream like state. And then suddenly, he was back in the office.

At first he was disoriented until he realized that he was not alone.

There was a middle aged man who was sitting at Mr. Tipton's desk, scribbling furiously.

Cody approached him, a little confused.

"Uh... hello?" Cody asked.

The man didn't respond.

"Hello?"

Nothing.

"Hey... can you hear me?" The man didn't look up or give the slightest indication as to Cody's presence.

There was a sharp knock on the door, which caused Cody to jump.

"JUST A MINUTE!" the man yelled, rather harshly, then quickly opened the drawer in his desk and stuffed the letter in.

"Come in."

The door opened, and a meekly, pale faced woman entered.

"Mr. Tipton? Could I have a word with you?"

Mr. Tipton sighed. "Make it VERY quick. I'm really busy right now. Got a lot of preparations for the event tonight."

Mr. Tipton? Could that be George Tipton sitting at the desk?

"Umm. We've been getting some customer complaints. Did you... did you give a few guests some... pieces of animal skin?"

"Did they do as I said?" he said without bothering to even look up.

"Sir, with all due respect, I don't think that's... the point." She swallowed nervously.

He jumped up from his desk and grabbed her by the shoulders. She seemed to pale even more.

"Now you listen to me, this is VERY important! You go back to each one of these guests, you hear me? You tell them this is of the utmost urgency! I'm not required to explain myself now! If they don't want to follow my instructions to the letter, TO. THE. LETTER, give them back to me and I'll quickly find others! Do I make myself clear!"

"Geor... sir, are you alright? Everybody's getting really worried about you. Even Andrew..."

Mr. Tipton's face softened a bit, but not much, and he let go of her.

"No. No, I am not okay. Look, Elizabeth..."

He sighed as he sat back down at his desk.

"This is very important. I cannot under any circumstances explain myself at this time. But I really need you to do exactly as I say. Make sure the guests keep each of their pieces. And keep them well hidden."

"Are... are we in any sort of danger, sir?"

They looked at each other. Cody could see fear beginning to well up in her eyes when he didn't answer right away. Mr. Tipton seemed to be deciding what to say.

"No. Everything is fine. Just do what I say and everything will be fine."

She nodded, but looked more worried than before.

"Um, someone also vandalized the second floor bathroom. And there have been complaints about a possible prowler, some people think... well, never mind what they think..."

"I am already well aware of these things. I'm handling them as we speak."

"Oh." She looked like she wanted to say more, but she seemed to have lost her nerve.

"I'm gonna go and... uh... check on the preparations for tonight." She turned and fumbled her way with the doorknob to leave.

"Elizabeth." he said as she was leaving.

"Yes sir?"

"To. The. Letter."

She nodded fearfully and was gone.

George Tipton sighed to himself, pulled out the letter he'd been writing and started again.

Cody, looking over his shoulder, saw it was the same letter that London had found.

George Tipton eventually finished writing it, and Cody watched as he secured it in it's hiding place behind the painting.

He then walked over, sat down at the table, and began working on divining the lyric Cody had been trying to find.

Cody was a little intrigued that he was now apparently viewing the past. Time travel was something that had always fascinated him heavily as a kid, and even as an adult. Was the fact that he was now actually experiencing the past proof? Nah. Time travel didn't really exist. He was merely having a vision of the past. Just like his dreams.

But this isn't what he had asked to be shown. He wanted to see the lyric. Not the past. Though the past was certainly interesting.

But no sooner had he thought that than the room and Mr. Tipton and everything else began fading away, and Cody was falling, falling yet again.

This happened for a few seconds, the feeling of falling down a tunnel, everything spinning and disorienting, and when Cody came to, he was in a completely different location.

Looking around, he could see that he was in a church. A Catholic church, to be precise.

Towards the front of the church, a man knelt before the altar, in front of a gigantic stained glass window depicting The Christ looming overhead. He was weeping.

Cody's first natural inclination was to go over and try to comfort him, but he realized that he was still probably viewing the past, and he would be unable to do anything.

So instead he watched. Eventually, the man lifted his head and looked up towards the stained glass Jesus.

Cody was surprised that it was, in fact, George Tipton, though in retrospect, he realized he probably shouldn't have been.

As he looked up towards The Christ, he said:

"Even you refuse to answer me too! Am I too far gone that you cannot even stand to look upon me? Have I been too long down the path of wickedness and depravity that you will not bring it upon yourself take mercy upon one of your most contrite, broken sinners?"

He stood up.

"I know that I made a mistake! I did something really wrong! I never wanted to take the lives of others! But that is just what has happened, and what I fear is going to continue to happen! Are you going to stand by idly now and let this... thing... do whatever it intends to the world?"

He lifted his hand and pointing his finger at The Christ in an almost dramatic fashion.

"Was it your hand that reached down and took Arthur away? I know, and I don't blame you. He is in heaven right now, where he should be. But in the end, he was the one who had to die first. Not me. You had to leave me here. To deal with this all by myself. To live with the guilt."

He put his hand down, turned around, and began walking down the aisle. His face was that of a madman, of someone who had completely snapped. His hair was mottled, and his face was stained with tears.

Cody wasn't sure if he should look on with pity or be horrified.

"No one knows the truth. No one knows that it was because of me that he died. It's all my fault. Is this punishment for my sins? Did you choose to punish me through him? All these years of doing the things I did, thinking I'd never be caught! Thinking it would never come back to bite me! Thinking I could control who got hurt, and it would never extend to anyone else! What did I do? But you won't answer me! No, no. You are going to leave me to deal with this all alone! I walk through my Gethsemane alone!"

He reached the end of the aisle, turned around, and started walking back.

"I came here seeking repentance. And to ask for guidance. But you are silent. I can feel it. Does it not move you that the entire world may be in peril? If I can't find a way to stop this, Armageddon will come for certain! Is that what you want? Am I some sort of Antichrist, carrying out some sort of twisted prophecy heralding in the end of the age?"

He stopped and gazed up at The Christ again.

"The worst part is, I can't tell anybody about this! There is no one to confide in! What I did! I would be locked up for sure! My sins pile up to the heavens from the lowest pit of hell! I have committed the worst sins of all! The absolute worst! I cannot tell anyone else, because they would not understand! They would be horrified! Maybe I don't care what they think of me anymore. But it is because of the ramifications of what would happen if they come to know that I must keep silent. I cannot let anything interfere with my mission! I have to stop this thing! But I must struggle alone! This is the punishment you have given me! That I must suffer with the weight of this guilt and my task of penance entirely alone!"

He knelt down again.

"If you would only forgive me. Forgive me for what I did. And bless me! Bless me, even though I don't deserve it! Give me the strength to undo the damage I've done! And at the end of it all, kill me! Send me straight down to lowest circle of hell for the Dark One to torment for all eternity! Let there be no purgatory for me! All I beg is that you just give me one last chance! And not just me, the world! I'm sorry. I'm so sor..."

His voice, along with everything else began to fade out. Cody was falling again.

All of a sudden, he was somewhere in the middle of some woods. He heard voices. He looked around. There were two kids walking. At first he thought they looked familiar. Then he was surprised when he realized they WERE familiar.

The two kids that were walking through the woods were him and Zack, back when they were somewhere around 14 and 15, from the look of them.

Cody wasn't sure he recognized this particular memory, though.

He watched, intrigued.

"Hey, Cody?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Have you ever seen anything weird in our room?"

Younger Cody gave him a confused look.

"Weird in what way?"

"Like, everything is not as it should be. As in, sometimes you see things that are there that shouldn't be. The kind of things if you were to tell anyone about it they wouldn't believe you or think you're completely crazy."

Cody got a cautious look on his face.

"No. Why? Have you seen something?"

"Oh. No. Not at all." He said, trying to brush it off, then he added: "Yeah."

"Like what?" Young Cody looked at Zack perplexedly.

"Like... sometimes I wake up... and there's writing on the wall."

"Writing on the wall?"

"Yeah. On the wall. On the ceiling. Even the floor, sometimes. And it's all sorts of random phrases, nothing that makes any sense. And they glow, and sometimes change..."

"Sounds like you've been having some pretty weird dreams."

"I'm wasn't dreaming! I would know if I was dreaming!"

"I have nightmares sometimes where I think I'm not dreaming, but I always wake up."

"But that's the thing! I don't wake up! Because I'm already awake, and I know it! Sometimes it just goes away. Sometimes it doesn't go away until I fall asleep and wake up the next morning!"

"I think you're either just messing with me, or you really have been having some crazy dreams and think they're real."

"Never mind. I'm sorry I brought it up. I knew you wouldn't believe me. Maybe you're right. Maybe I was only dreaming."

They walked in silence for a few seconds. Then Zack stopped and turned towards his brother. Cody stopped along with him.

"Cody, have you ever seen... a... a Dark Man?"

"A what?"

"A Dark Man."

"A dark man?"

"Yeah. But like, it's not an actual man. It's got the form of a human, but it isn't. It's all dark, and you can feel evil coming from it. It stands there in this weird pose that looks like it's standing, but it's kinda off, like it's 'crooked', but I don't think that's really it either. You don't even really see the Dark Man most of the time, sometimes you just see it out of the corner of your eye, or you only see it in half a second and it's gone. But usually you can feel it."

"Umm. I've never seen or... _felt_ anything like that."

"You sure? Not at all?"

"You know, if you're trying to screw with me, it's not going to work. I'm not as gullible as I was when I was younger."

"I'm not screwing with you!" Zack half yelled, grabbing his brother.

Cody could see the surprise in his younger self's eyes. Cody knew that Zack was the master of messing with people. But there was something different in Zack's eyes right now. 25 year old Cody could see it, and he knew his younger self could see it to. Zack had a look of sheer desperation. Cody, for once, didn't believe that he was lying.

Zack let go of his brother.

"I'm sorry. Just forget it. Forget I ever brought it up."

Zack started to walk. Cody stared after him for a few seconds before starting to walk too.

"Zack?" he said.

"You're serious, aren't you?"

Younger Cody surely knew he was probably biting the bait, if his brother really WAS screwing with him. Maybe Zack had simply found a new method, one that would take his already superb acting skills to a whole new level.

But Zack turned to look at Cody, and there was no humor in his face.

"Where... where have you seen this... this 'Dark Man'?" He asked cautiously.

Zack swallowed before he spoke.

"Well, all I know is... sometimes I see it... or feel it... right before something really bad is about to happen, or has just happened. The first time I saw it was when mom and dad had that big argument right before they got divorced. Dad had just stormed out of the house, and I looked down the hallway, and for a split second I thought I saw it, but I could feel it more than I saw it. It frightened me, but I tried to tell myself I only imagined it.

The next time was when we witnessed that car accident in front of us. I could have sworn I saw it right before the collision. It was on the side of the road, just standing there. It was only there for a few seconds, and I remember thinking to myself, 'Why is that guy standing there like that?', and 'Why is he all dark in broad daylight?', and then just like that, it was gone, and all of a sudden, that's when the accident happened. I also saw it when we were on that camping trip last year, when you disappeared. I was so scared, because I looked up and saw him. He was standing several feet away, near the woods. That's when I freaked out and started looking for you, and when I couldn't find you, I freaked out some more, because when I saw him, I just knew..."

He started to cry. All young Cody could do was look on with shock. Zack had not been known to tear up, ever.

Older Cody was just as transfixed by this scene. Cody wondered if he really was remembering the past. Why couldn't he remember this at all?

Young Cody was even more shocked when Zack reached over and hugged him.

"I just knew you were dead. I can't explain how. I just knew. I was so happy when we found you."

Cody pushed him off and looked him in the face.

"I didn't die, Zack."

"I can't explain it. That's just the way I felt. When I saw it, that's the thought that crossed my mind."

"Are you sure this isn't just all in your imagination?"

"See, I knew you'd say that. You think I'm crazy."

"No." Cody said.

"I just know that our minds can play tricks on us sometimes."

Silence for a few seconds. Zack was still heaving.

He took a deep breath and dried his eyes. Young Cody still didn't know what to make of all this. Zack spoke:

"Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me. But that's not the way I feel whenever I see it. When I see it, I get the most horrible feeling. You can't imagine feelings, can you?"

Cody, who had read one too many psychology books, even by that age, would have had to respond that it was entirely possible to manufacture feelings based off certain fears. If someone imagined they saw something that terrified them, they would feel the appropriate feelings they expected to feel.

Cody was surprised to hear his younger self respond, "I don't know."

He guessed he must have been feeling sympathetic towards Zack, and didn't want to keep pressing that he might be crazy.

"The most recent time I saw him was last week. He was standing at the foot of my bed. I was never more scared in my entire life. I thought he was gonna kill me."

"Zack...""I don't think I was having a nightmare. I've had nightmares about it nonstop since them, b... but, it just doesn't feel the same. It's like, my dreams can recreate what happened because I was so terrified, but it can't recreate the feelings. I f-felt, like it was going to kill me! I was too terrified to move! I couldn't think of anything to do! I hid under my covers. I felt it was still there, watching me. I felt like it would attack me at any time, and it would be all over. But I got too scared of not seeing... so I cautiously lifted my sheet, but it was gone. But I could still feel it. I think I eventually fell asleep, but I was so terrified out of my mind, the whole night was just a blur..."

Cody just looked at him, unsure how to respond.

"I don't know what to say. I've never seen anything like that. But you're still here. So I guess everything will be okay."

"Do you think I'm crazy?"

"No, I don't think you're crazy."

They started walking again. Neither spoke for several minutes. Then Zack asked Cody:

"You won't tell anyone else about this, will you? Please don't tell anyone else what I just told you, I don't want them thinking that... that... well, I'm crazy, or a chicken, or something. I... I have a reputation to keep up."

"I won't tell anyone." Cody said.

"I'd appreciate it."

Silence.

"Cody?"

"Yeah?"

"I know this is going to sound really strange, but... I need to ask to do something for me. It's kinda weird."

Cody turned to look at Zack.

"Ooooookay?"

They stopped, as Zack fished something out of his pocket.

He handed Cody a piece of paper. Cody opened it up cautiously. There was a drawing. It was a circle with two small crosses, one on the top and the other on the bottom.

"It's pronounced Olkas. O-L-K-A-S. That's how it's spelled."

Cody gave him a weird look.

"I don't get it."

"I know this doesn't make sense, and I really can't explain to you why, but I think this will be extremely important someday. Please don't lose it."

Cody eyed him cautiously.

"I'm not screwing with you! Just please, if you never listen to or believe another thing I say, ever again, just trust me on this one thing! Memorize it, keep it in a safe place. Don't forget it!"

"Do I get any sort of hint about what it's for?"

"I don't know." Zack answered, and again, his eyes gave no indication he was lying.

After staring at him for a few seconds, Cody must have decided to let it go, because he shrugged and stuffed it in his pocket.

They resumed their walk.

"So, how are you and Ashley getting along?" Cody asked, apparently trying to change the subject to a more lighter tone.

And the prospect of talking about girls, Zack's eyes lit up.

"Oh, we broke up. It just wasn't working out."

"I'm disappointed. You almost made it two weeks. Me and mom were taking bets about whether or not you'd break your record."

"Hey, what can I say?" Zack, returning slowly to his usual more lighthearted, cocky mood.

"You just can't tie a stud like me down."

"Stud?" Cody laughed.

"You better believe it!"

"I've never heard anyone refer to themselves with that word."

"That's because it doesn't fit most people."

"Since I'm your twin, does that make me a stud too?"

"Well, maybe if you ever had a date."

"Girls aren't interested in me."

"You won't even hardly try!"

"I have studies to do." Cody muttered, looking down a bit.

"I have to work hard if I want to get into Yale."

"From being homeschooled? Even I know that's a huge stretch."

"Well, I have to try, okay?" Cody said, getting defensive.

"Whoa. Dude. I'm sorry." Zack said apologetically, raising his hands.

"I know that means a lot to you. I just don't want you to end up, you know, disappointed."

Cody didn't say anything to him.

"You have to learn to enjoy life a bit. I know you don't want to hear this, but there are other schools... I mean, if you spend all your life studying for just one, and you don't get in, aren't you basically wasting all the fun you could be having right now."

"My studies are fun. My ambitions, my goals, and my dreams are fun."

"No, they're not." Zack said.

"You're stressing yourself out. You rarely want to spend time together anymore. And you don't seem to be having all that much fun."

"Well, I am, okay?" Cody nearly snapped at him.

"Okay... okay... no need to get mad at me, I'm sorry."

They walked on in more silence for a bit. Then it was Zack's turn to try lighting the mood by changing the subject, but 25 year old Cody heard no more, as their voices started to fade out, and he felt like he was floating once more, but this time he was going up, UP, until he suddenly found himself sitting back at the table in Mr. Tipton's office, staring at the bowl of water, and he realized he had come back to the present.

Cody looked around the room. It was just as he left it. He glanced at his watch. The time was only ten minutes past what he remembered. He wondered if he'd been sitting here in a trance the whole time?

Did he really just have several visions of the past? They had seemed so real while he was having them, but now they seemed unreal, like he had been dreaming.

That conversation with Zack, them walking, he definitely didn't remember that.

But he also didn't remember waking up in his room when he was four, seeing the writing on the walls, the angels outside his window, the Dark Man standing behind them.

He didn't remember walking off the edge of a cliff at summer camp, getting impaled on a rock and nearly dying, being saved by only a rare, supernatural gift.

But yet he was more sure than ever that these things had actually happened. And yet he had forgotten them all completely. Why?

He couldn't answer that.

He stuck his hand in his pocket, almost on impulse. He was shocked when he felt his hands around paper. He pulled it out. It was a piece of paper, alright. He hadn't remembered putting it in his pocket before coming here.

He unfolded it.

It was the piece of paper Zack had given him in the vision. There was the circle with the two crosses, one on top, and one on the bottom.

Cody remembered the name.

"Olkas." He said to himself.

The paper looked worn. Really worn. Had he pulled this piece of paper from the vision? Or had he actually stuck it in his pocket at home when he was getting ready to come here? Had he perhaps forgotten the memory of the walk with Zack, but his subconscious had forced him to keep it safe all this time and had him fish it out and bring it with him, at the exact time when he would need it?

Had he been going through the trouble all this time of trying to divine the last lyric when it had been in his pocket the whole time?

Cody opened his notebook. The symbol was there. He wrote down 'Olkas' next to it and crossed the symbol out.

Cody thought about the other visions he'd had, specifically the one with George Tipton at the church.

So, it was as Cody suspected, wasn't it? What was happening here wasn't just some sort of chance occurrence. It had been caused, and Mr. Tipton had blamed himself, to the point of extreme mania and guilt. Cody wondered about the person he mentioned, Arthur, who had died. Cody would have liked to know the circumstances behind what had happened. He knew he could probably get something from the internet, but he didn't think he and London hardly had the time to go web surfing again.

But what concerned him was that George had indicated in his prayer that he'd been doing "things" for many years, things that he felt were so bad that he would surely be put away for.

Was he referring to whatever he had done that might have triggered what was going on now? Or was there another piece to the puzzle, one that nobody would have thought possible, maybe something they really wouldn't want to find out about?

He thought back to Trevor's letter.

_'...there are some serious skeletons in Mr. Tipton's closet...'_

Cody wondered if he should talk about his visions with London, then decided it might be a better idea to keep them to himself for now.

He had scarcely thought of her when, at that moment, London entered the room. Cody looked up at her, relieved to see she was all right. "Hey, how did it g... are you okay?"

He suddenly realized she looked a LOT more haggard than she did when she had left.

"I... I'm fine."

Cody didn't believe her.

"How is your search going?" she asked him.

Cody held up his notebook. "Got it. You?"

London pulled out and handed him her own version.

"Excellent!" Cody said as he grabbed it and began copying it onto his own.

"We make a pretty good team!"

"Yeah..." she said distantly. "Cody... it almost got me."

He stopped and looked up at her, then jumped up and pulled her into a hug.

"London, are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine. It tried to get me in the bathroom. I saw it destroy one of the lyrics. If I had been a little later... well. And then I knew I should have left right then, but for some reason I hung around, and the mirror started getting all weird and foggy-like, and I think I nearly got hypnotized, and it tried to come through the mirror... and that wasn't all... I got a phone call in the lobby, and it was Todd, but it really wasn't, and it said..."

She was getting almost more hysterical with every word.

"Shh. Shh." Cody said, holding her tight. "It's all right now. You're with me. You're safe."

She pulled back.

"No I'm not. We're not safe. It's getting stronger. We're almost out of time. Maybe we are already out of time."

"Was it like when I got hypnotized by the voice coming from the computer?"

She nodded.

"I think it was."

"Remember when I said we need to be very careful what we touch or use from now on?"

"Yes."

"I think it can get to us before we run out of time. Remember my theory about us slowly getting sucked in without realizing it? I think that certain things act as portals, like the computer, or mirrors, that can hypnotize us faster so we start to cross over more quickly, and then they grab us. I think we still have a chance. We just have to be very careful."

She nodded, not entirely convinced, and he wasn't so sure he was entirely convinced himself.

He was trying to invent rules for the supernatural. Trying once again to put science to things he didn't fully understand himself.

"London?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember when you asked me if I was an atheist and I said no?" he asked. She nodded her head. "I've been thinking. Something happened to me a long time ago, several things, actually, but one specific thing; an incident that I think I somehow pushed out of my head and forgot.

If it wasn't for the things I've seen and experienced tonight, I might still be skeptical, but... when I was 14, I almost died. But there were beings all around me. Many of them. I think they may have been... angels. They let me live. I should have died right there, but they saved me for some reason. But the weirdest thing is that, I don't think they did it out of compassion. There seemed to be some sort of strange attitude among them, like they knew something about the future that I didn't. Maybe something horrifying. Like they weren't sure they made the right decision, but they decided to go through for some reason that they thought it might have been worth a shot. One of them said that 'some things are worse than death', and when I asked him what that was, all he said was: 'Dark Fall'."

London was looking at him, trying to absorb all this in.

"So, you think they saved you even though they knew you might die a much more horrible death later on?"

"No. I keep wondering, what if... what if I was allowed to live so I could be here? Doing this right now?"

"You think that's the case?"

"All my life I've been trying to find myself and my purpose. Through academics, through science, to being a married man, to trying to be like my brother... but what if this is it? What if this is what it all comes down to? Both of us, actually. Maybe it's not about trying to be selfish and do things for ourselves... but..."

"But what?"

"Saving the world. Trying to make an impact for a better future. You don't think I'm acting crazy right now, do you?"

"No. Not at all. But do you think we'll really get through this alive? If it gets us, Cody, then all our work will be in vain."

_Some things are worse than death._

She was right. They could get to the very end, and suddenly perish.

"We could leave now." she said. "Come back later after it's died down some."

"There's no guarantee of that." Cody said. "As it stands, there's no guarantee by this point we'd even make it out the door alive, much less the Ghost Zone. We need to finish this, as fast as we can."

He held up his notebook. "We're almost there! We're so close!"

"But what if it gets us and destroys all the work? One of the lyrics has already been destroyed, and look at all the work it took to get that one!"

She pointed at the table.

Cody thought about that. True. It could very well end up being that all their work was for naught. And then the next person who came behind them would never be able to finish it. And the cycle would go on. And on. And on. Never ceasing.

Cody had an idea.

"I have an idea as to how we can protect the work. It's a longshot. It's a VERY huge longshot. I need to go back to Maddie and Trevor's room and get on the internet. This is very important. I think I can salvage the work we've done and prevent it from ever being destroyed. Then, someone can come back and finish it for us. I specifically need to do it. But I need to you to do something while I'm doing that. I know you've just been through a horrifying ordeal, but, I need you to find the next two lyrics. When you get the last one, stay put in Verney's room. I will be up ASAP. I don't think we will need to get the final one. It's a simple matter of logical deduction. Whichever lyric is left, is the final one to be put into the sequence. Then we'll go to the temple and stop this."

She nodded. "Okay." She looked afraid.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"I... I think I can handle myself."

Cody hugged her again. "It's almost over. It's almost all over. We're going to get through this. Be strong."

They pulled away. "I'll do my best."

Cody grabbed his carrying case and accounted for his things, then they left the room and stepped into the hallway.

"This is the final gamble. We're almost at the end." He looked at her. "Be careful."

"You too."

Then they split and parted ways. Cody watched her go, then turned off to head back to Maddie and Trevor's office.

He felt this strange, horrifying feeling welling up in the pit of his stomach. He tried to push it down.

_Just the adrenaline of the moment. That's all._

But he couldn't. At once he wanted to turn around, run to her, grab her, and never leave her side. But he knew that wasn't an option. So he didn't, and continued onto his destination.

He had the strange, sick feeling he would never see her again.


	21. It

_It could see them._

_It wondered what they were doing._

_It watched them walk away._

_It had been following them this whole time._

_It wanted to reach out into the world._

_It couldn't reach out into the world yet._

_It knew it would be time soon._

_It had felt fear moments ago._

_It had come across something while following her. _

_It had been terrified to its core._

_It felt the possibility of death._

_It destroyed the thing that could have killed it._

_It knew everything was okay now._

_It was frustrated._

_It saw them split up._

_It didn't know who to follow._

_It was curious._

_It wanted to know._

_It wanted to kill._

_It felt hate._

_It wanted Cody more._

_It knew Cody had already fallen into its trap._

_It had wanted Cody a very long time._

_It had wanted Zack, too._

_It had Zack._

_It was going to get Cody._

_It wondered which to follow._

_It knew that there was almost no chance they were going to leave now._

_It knew it was almost time._

_It knew they couldn't leave now._

_It saw them walk off in different directions._

_It wanted both._

_It knew it had them both._

_It wanted Cody._

_It decided Cody could wait._

_It turned and followed the girl._


	22. The Vengeful Ghost

**Chapter 18**

**The Vengeful Ghost**

(1)

Cody entered the office. He quickly crossed over to the computer and booted it up.

There was a printer/scanner/fax combo machine hooked up to the computer. It had the Hadden logo on it. This was exactly what he was here for.

When the computer had finished booting, Cody tore out the piece of paper with the lyrics from his notebook and fed it into the machine. When he pressed the 'scan' button, a message popped up asking him if he'd like to save the file onto the computer. He clicked 'Yes'.

The machine went to work, whirring as it scanned the file in, and it popped up on the desktop. Cody also scanned in the pages of the letter London had found.

Cody clicked open the internet browser, went to email, went to contacts, and began typing out an email to Lenny

_Lenny,_

_I know you are going to open this and at first glance be confused, and then think this is all some sort of big prank. It's not. Zack has disappeared, along with the Ghost Hunters who were supposed to be here. The 'Tipton Curse' is real, and I think I've figured out what is causing it. I'm here with London Tipton. This is not a prank. If we fail, we will disappear too. If you don't believe me and we are unsuccessful, you will hear about it on the news. If you don't hear back from me after tonight, and the news announces the strange disappearance of London Tipton, and maybe even me, then you will know that what I am saying is fact. I don't have time to go into detail about exactly what took place here and what is causing all of this, but I really need you to trust me. There may be a way to stop it, it's bizarre, and it will sound like it makes no sense, but you just have to really trust me on this one. _

_I'm sending you an attachment file, it's from a notebook I've been working on since I've been here. You will see a bunch of strange words in a sequence from top to bottom. This is the order they go in, from the top. There is a temple underneath the hotel. Not kidding. Someone needs to come to the hotel, go down to the temple, and utter all the words in sequence to put a stop to this. You will see some of the words are missing. This is because me and London are still trying to get the order of the last few. Mr. Tipton hid them cryptically all around the hotel. In case we fail, the final lyrics to the sequence are hidden in rooms 2913 and 3179, and in a special room next to the roof exit. I'm also sending you attachments containing copies of several letters Mr. Tipton wrote. They should hopefully back up my claims somewhat. _

_The symbols on the left side need to be matched to the remaining words, that is the order of the sequence. You need to be aware that whatever is going on here, the Tiptons have been aware of for a very long time since the original night this all started, and the only reason this place went up for sale was because Wilfred Tipton decided to play the skeptic and wanted to make money off this land, but the family IS aware that there is something not natural going on here. We ourselves, because we are here right now, have seen this for a fact. If we disappear, you need to let the world know, and someone needs to come back and finish ours and George Tipton's work and put an end to all of this. You're the only one I could think of off the top of my head to trust with this. This is not a joke. _

_Sincerely, Cody Martin_

Cody loaded the attachments into the email and pressed 'Send'.

That was done. Now that that was taken care of, he decided to rendezvous with London.

He didn't expect she would be done with 2913 yet, so he made that his next destination.

(2)

The room was cold. Like it had been in the bathroom. This automatically freaked London out a bit. The room was empty. Nothing moved. But nothing jumped out at her.

Still, the bathroom had been like that in the beginning. She couldn't let herself chicken out now, though. She had a mission to accomplish.

She also didn't want to put the goggles on. But they would be the fastest way.

She lifted them to her head and slipped them over. She flicked on the power switch.

Instantly, the room came to a new kind of life it didn't have before to the naked human eye.

The writing on the wall was there.

_THOSE VICIOUS BRUTES!_

_how dare they insult me i'll get even with them i swear_

_RAGE_

_HATETHEMHATETHEMHATETHEM_

_We think you should kill them..._

_The greatest I AM the GREATEST I should HAVE BEEN the GREATEST they took everything away from me NOW I'll take everything away from them_

_dontshowfear_

_Murder_

__

_TREACHARY_

London looked all about the room, seeing more of the same, until...

_WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?_

The last set of words that appeared on the wall made London jump a bit, as she realized they were probably directed at her.

She remembered how Cody had acted before in Joanne's room.

"Umm. Could you please tell me where you hid the thing Mr. Tipton gave you?"

_YOU'RE A VERY NOSY SORT POKING AROUND IN OTHER PEOPLES THINGS _

_GET OUT OF MY ROOM_

"But we need to use it because we are trying to save you and everyone else!"

_SAVE? SAVE FROM WHAT? I DONT NEED TO BE SAVED FROM ANYTHING _

_LEAVE NOW_

"The thing that attacked you and took you away to... wherever you are right now... we're trying to stop it! We really need that thing that gran... that Mr. Tipton gave you the night before the party!"

_ATTACKED? _

_IM STILL HERE IN THE HOTEL _

_IM GOING TO STAY IN THIS ROOM FOREVER _

_A BUNCH OF VICIOUS ART LOATHING BRUTES IN THE OUTSIDE WORLD _

_I HATE THEM ALL_

"Doesn't it matter to you that you and many others are dead right now?"

_I AM NOT DEAD _

_I REFUSE TO BE DEAD _

_I HAVE A LEGACY _

_IM GOING TO BE THE GREATEST IN THE WORLD_

"They laughed you out of the theatre and you came here to lick your wounds, but then something evil came and killed you! Doesn't this matter to you at all? Aren't you suffering where you are right now?"

_I CAME HERE SO I COULD PLOT MY REVENGE AND GET EVEN WITH THOSE WHO HURT ME_

_YES_

_IT WAS GOING TO BE A VERY SWEET REVENGE_

_BUT EVEN THAT WAS TAKEN FROM ME_

_BUT I FOUND SOMETHING BETTER_

"What's that?" London asked apprehensively.

_SACRIFICE THEM ALL TO THE DARK ONE YES THE DARK ONE_

_HE WILL REAP THEIR SOULS _

_A FITTING REVENGE FOR A CRUEL TWISTED WORLD_

London was horrified at the things she was reading.

"You WANT everyone to disappear? Experience what you are going through right now? How could you possibly want such a thing?"

_I WAS BEING TORMENTED LONG BEFORE THE DARKNESS CAME_

_I FEEL TORMENTED NOW BUT I WANT EVERYONE TO FEEL IT_

_I NEVER WANTED NOTHING MORE THAN TO FEEL LOVED BUT _

_I WAS A CHILD MY PARENTS NEVER CARED TO BE THERE FOR ME DIDNT WANT ME SO I WANTED TO GROW UP TO BECOME SOMETHING GREAT BUT THE WORLD LAUGHED AT ME NEVER WANTED ME JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE IN MY LIFE _

The words faded and new ones appeared.

_EVERYONE WHO EXPERIENCES HAPPINESS _

_EVERYONE WHO EXPERIENCES LOVE _

_EVERYONE WHO EXPERIENCES ALL THE THINGS I COULD NEVER HAVE _

_I WANT THEM TO ALL DIE AND SUFFER LIKE I DO NOW AND ALWAYS HAVE_

As London read this, she began to feel sorry for the spirit.

"Listen," London said softly. "I went through many of the same things that you are going through. My parents were never there for me either. My mother didn't want me, and my dad barely knows I exist. But the one thing I did do different from you is that I actually DID live all my life as a wealthy and admired person, but let me tell you something:

Just because you are looked up to by the world, it doesn't actually make you feel any less lonelier. Fame and respect and money doesn't make you feel better, because you've just been living your life all for yourself. The people in your life that hurt you were selfish, but you want to respond with selfishness too and hurting others back, and that, as I've had to discover in my own life, is not the answer. Shouldn't you... shouldn't we want to live our lives making sure that nothing like this ever happens to anyone ever again, especially those around us, if we can help it?

If you really want to take vengeance upon the world, wouldn't it be better to show kindness to the others that did you wrong? Because, if you treat them the opposite of the way they treat you, then suddenly THEY look really bad. I know there is nothing I can say to take away all the pain that you've felt your whole life, but please, if there is any shred of goodness in you, and I believe there is, then please help us to stop this thing!"

There was nothing for about 10 seconds. Then,

_IT HURTS_

"Please?" London asked one more time. She was on the verge of giving up, when

_THE CLOCK OVER BY THE BED FROM LEFT PRES 4_

Got it! London excitedly tore the goggles from her head and ran over to the bed.

But she stopped in mid tracks and said; "Thanks, Matilda."

She went over to the bed stand and examined the clock. The clock in question was an antique, wooden with beautiful carving all around it. It was of a long horizontal shape, and curved upwards over the faceplate. It wasn't working, but London also wasn't quite sure what the number sequence was supposed to represent.

Press 1, 3, 2, 4?

She didn't see any numbers on the clock.

Well, other than the 1-12 numbers on the time telling portion itself. But those were encased inside and you couldn't press those.

From left? What did that mea...

Wait.

There were tiny buttons on the clock, London noticed. They were very small and colored the same as the wood, and they jutted out so that one could have sworn at a glance that they were merely decorative. There were four, two on the left, and two on the right. The one furthest on the left must be 1, so London pressed it and got a click. The one on the 2nd from the right must be 2, and so on. London pressed them all until there was another click and a secret compartment on the clock slid out from the right hand side, and London saw that the skin was tucked snuggly inside.

She pulled it out.

The symbol looked like a 2 with the horizontal line extending way further than normal, and there were two long vertical lines going through it.

London scratched out the symbol on her paper and wrote 'Morcana' within the sequence.

They almost had the complete sequence. The main thing to figure out now which slots Raka and Oliviak would go in. The last one could be put in by logical deduction.

London wondered how things were going with Cody. But there was no time to think about that. Time was wasting, and she needed to head to Verney's room to get the next piece.

Well, at least nothing significantly horrifying had taken place in this room. She was a little nerved out that she had just had a conversation with a ghost, a bit of a dark one at that, but she was breathing easily for now.

She opened the door to leave the room and found herself face to face with someone. She almost jumped out of her skin until she realized it was just Cody.

"Oh. Hey." he said. "Business in this room all taken care of?"

"You startled me."

"Sorry." he grinned sheepishly. "Experience any more things that go bump in the night?"

"I talked to a ghost. She was a little tough, but I finally convinced her to point me in the direction of the lyric."

She held up the piece of paper and showed him.

"Excellent!" he said, and opened his notebook to copy it.

"Is your business all taken care of?"

"Yes." he said. "Even if we fail, I don't think our work will be in vain now. I can't say for certain that they guy I emailed the information will believe me, but I think that if it looks later like something serious has actually happened he'll do whatever it takes to try and pass the information on."

"So, we're going to go and get Verney's lyric now, right?"

"There's something I want to do." he said. "I trust you to get Verney's lyric. I know it isn't necessary at this point, but I want to divide our time wisely and see if I can find out some more than we already know. I want to stop by that room where Mr. Tipton kept his journal and see what's in there for myself. Maybe there's some information there we can use. Besides, if you end up having trouble finding the lyric, I'll get the one from the journal, and we'll be all set."

"Well, we could just skip Verney and go to grandfather's room together."

"I've been thinking about that, and... here's the game plan I'm thinking of. I'm not going to lie. I think being split up is dangerous, BUT, I'm pretty sure this thing is NOT omnipresent. I'm not really sure how things went down the night everyone suddenly vanished, but I know when it took the ghost hunters and my brother, it didn't take them all at once. I think the requirement is you have to at least be in the same general vicinity. When each of us finds our last lyrics, we don't wait around for each other. We meet downstairs at the temple. The first person to complete the sequence rushes down there and completes the incantation and if... if one of us gets caught, the other still has a fighting chance. Are... are you okay with this?"

She thought for a second and nodded her head.

"I'm scared. I won't pretend like I'm not. But I know your way is probably the right thing to do."

"We'll walk together to the 31st floor, and we'll split. We're almost there. Just a little longer and it'll soon be over. Let's go."

She nodded, and they headed off together.

They walked on in silence. They didn't have any more words to say. The desire for casual conversation was negated by the nervousness and excitement both of them felt.

Would they actually make it? Was it really almost all over?

London grabbed Cody's arm and held onto it. Cody had no problem with that. Although they were in a hurry, he felt no need to want to rush. He wished they could be like this forever, just walking on in silence, content in each others' company.

The hotel around them was as silent as the dead.

When a shadow appeared and danced across the hallway in front of them, neither of them altered their pace, nor changed their breathing or their heart rate. Such things were now commonplace, and it had the strange sense of feeling this was just the way things should be. Cody felt it was humorous how it now felt they were living in a dreamworld, another dimension removed from reality, a house of surreal horrors, and yet they had slowly come to completely accept these things as normal and as if it was just the way life should be.

Neither of them was aware they were being followed by something that yet remained unseen to human eyes, and indeed, if either were wearing the special goggles, they still wouldn't have been able to see it either.

It was not time yet. But it would be time soon. The clock was just almost out, and when it finally did run out, it would be party time.

When they finally came to 3179, they gave each other one last farewell hug for good luck, and she entered the room and he headed off for his destination.

Something watched him go, and then turned and entered the room with London. She never saw it in there with her.


	23. The Journal

**Chapter 19**

**The Journal**

(1)

Cody stood outside the door. He was wary of opening this door. He was afraid whatever was on the other side might actually be profoundly disturbing.

But he had no choice. He had to see for himself. Someone had to see.

He pulled the silver key out of his pocket, inserted it into the lock and entered.

As he opened the door, a horrid, musty smell of death and something else he couldn't identify wafted out of the room.

It was an assault on the senses.

But what was inside shook Cody even more to the core.

The walls were made entirely of metal. It felt more like a prison cell than the kind of room you'd expect to find in a hotel.

The walls were all black and rusted over. Cody reached over on the wall and found a switch. As Cody stepped onto the floor, his shoe clanked on what was also apparently a metal surface.

The room lit up with a red light.

_Blood red._ Cody thought.

The light didn't light up the room that much. Cody felt it gave just enough light, while the room still stayed drenched in mostly darkness.

Cody could see, based off what was in this room, that such a thing was entirely intentional.

There wasn't much in this room. The most prominent feature was the huge altar towards the back.

On the back wall, looming high above it, was a gigantic sketched pentagram, drawn in red.

Cody walked up to the altar. It was black, but Cody could tell that there was blood running all the way down around it. As he looked down, he could see that the floor around it was stained with blood.

What exactly had been sacrificed on this altar?

It struck Cody that this was the source of the stench of death, dried coagulated blood that had been rotting here for decades.

There was a table behind the altar. It was a simple wooden table about waist high on which was laid a red cloth with ornate yellow patterns all over it.

On the middle of this table was lying a large, black leather bound book with a pentagram symbol on it. To the right was a much smaller leather bound book that had a lock and a keyhole on it.

The key was lying conspicuously right next to it.

To the right of these were an assortment of daggers and a few other tools that Cody didn't recognize, but had a feeling they had something to do with the ritual of sacrifice.

To the left was a large basin that was filled with water. It looked clean, but considering how long it had obviously been here, Cody wasn't about to touch it.

On the rightmost part of the table was a large stack of papers. Cody decided to sort through them first.

When he saw they were all receipts pertaining to the purchasing of animals, sheep, goats, and similar other creatures, Cody found himself breathing a small sigh of relief at the fact that he could be near certain that Mr. Tipton hadn't been conducting human sacrifices up here.

But that still didn't make the whole thing any less disturbing.

Cody made his way over to the large book with the pentagram on it and opened it up to a random page for perusal inside.

In the part he opened to, there was a drawn picture of a man slicing open the throat of a sheep on an altar that looked similar to the one before Cody, and on the other page was a disturbing read calling itself 'The Devil's Prayer':

_Our Lord Abaddon, who art in Hell_

_Hallowed be Thy Name_

_Thy Kingdom come_

_Thy depravity be done_

_On Earth as it is in Hell_

_Give us today our daily vengeance_

_As we carry out Thine will_

_Allow us to inflict torment, evil, and darkness upon those who trespass against us_

_For they trespass not just against us, but Thine unholy name_

_Let us give ourselves in to all lust and depravity of the flesh_

_And let us not resist the Evil One_

_But let us give into Him and be merged with Him wholly and eternally_

_Let us become One in Flesh and Spirit_

_For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power, the Principality, and the Demonic Glory_

_For Ever and Ever_

_Amen_

Cody turned the page and started flipping through the book.

Sacrificial rites, spells for performing dark magic and casting curses upon people, spells for summoning demons to inflict torment on people, Satanic drawings and imagery, dark poetry, parts that read kind of like religious texts except from a more twisted standpoint...

The last page Cody stopped on described a summoning ritual for bringing demons into our plane of existence.

_'The portal to hell can appear in many places. The portal cannot be summoned anywhere a person wishes, but sometimes it may be summoned if the location meets the specific unholy requirements. There are especially important hotspots for harnessing dark demonic energy, and it is in these places that if dark rituals, blood sacrifices, and black magic are performed, they will have their most potent results. In these places, the holes can be summoned, if they haven't already been summoned in the past._

_These holes, though they are rare, can be used to summon demons into the physical realm. Extreme caution must be exercised when doing this, as most demons are not intelligent, sentient creatures like the higher ranking demons of the underworld, which is hierarchal. Most of them are malicious beings hell bent on doing whatever damage and cruelty they can to the world. They have no cognitional senses. Sometimes demons can give us power, and with the right degree of control, they can be sent out to exact harm and vengeance, and can even give us a little extra push in our lives to help us get the things we want. Of course, in order to have this degree of control, one must pay the price. _

_It depends on how much control the necromancer wants. Do you want to just cast spells? Or do you want to take it farther and commune with demons themselves? A blood sacrifice must be offered to do this. It must be the blood of the necromancer, and he must offer his eternal soul to the Lord of Darkness. Even this is not sufficient enough to retain control. Innocent blood must continually be offered up to Abaddon. This can be done through the ritualistic sacrifice of animals like sheep, goats, ect. A first word of caution to the necromancer is that the act of summoning demons or spirits can have uncontrollable results. Sometimes not even strict adherence to the rules of necromancy can be sufficient to retain control over demons. Demons only obey one master, and the necromancer, upon performing the rituals or offering his life to Lord Abaddon, puts his fate entirely in the Dark Lord's control. The Dark Lord may choose to have the necromancer killed, just for fun. Remember, with these rites you put your life in danger._

_A second word of caution: the rules and rites and rituals listed in this book assume that you are dealing with holes that are relatively small or of a normal size. However, it is commonly believed that there are some holes in the world that should not be messed with. As mentioned before, the underworld has a hierarchy. The demons you will be summoning out of the normal holes will be lesser demons. However, it is entirely possible for much higher ranking demons to come out of much bigger holes, which is why it is extremely dangerous that these even be messed with. Whether you sell your soul to Lord Abaddon or not is of no consideration. These higher demons will not waste a chance like this to attack, hurt and kill anyone they can, even the necromancer, and especially the necromancer. _

_It is highly believed, though disputed, that the Revelation of the seer St. John as recounted in the Bible involves the 'Antichrist', Satan himself being summoned out of a particularly large hole. Whether there is or not any truth to this theory is among serious debate. But many experienced necromancers and priests of the dark arts believe unwaveringly that these extremely large holes should never be touched. If such a thing were to happen, it could possibly spell the end of the world._

Cody could read no more. He carefully closed the book, now feeling more horrified and disturbed than he'd ever felt his entire life.

These are the kinds of hobbies Mr. Tipton had been dedicating his spare time to? He felt weak in his knees. He was glad London wasn't here right now.

The whole thing made so much sense. But to think something like this could even exist, that stuff this extraordinarily twisted was possible, summoning demons, communing with them, some of them being capable of threatening the safety of the entire world...

And how many more were there out there like Mr. Tipton who were aware of these things and practiced these kinds of extreme dark arts? Cody didn't want to think about that.

Cody's thoughts started going off in horrifying new directions he had never considered in his life.

Weren't there other places in the world where many disappearances happened and were unexplained?

Is it possible they were all be connected?

The Tipton Hotel had been famously dubbed by some the second Bermuda Triangle of the world.

But what if that moniker was far more accurate than anyone could have dreamed?

Cody thought of the mention of Revelations in the book he had just been thumbing through.

In the book of Revelations, which he had read along with the Bible in its entirety when he was younger, the Antichrist, AKA Satan, is first mentioned dubbed as a "beast coming out of the sea".

Which sea? Could it have something to do with the Bermuda Triangle? Was there actually a hole there big enough for the most evil being of all to come through?

The thought chilled Cody to the bone. The thought that such things could exist on Earth was the most horrifying thought he could imagine.

Cody also remembered that in the Bible, King Solomon had said that the acquisition of knowledge only served to make one's life more bitter.

Indeed it was. Cody couldn't imagine that the Earth was cursed with these things, these holes, all over the place, just waiting for someone twisted or curious enough to come along and open them up.

There had been a small hole in his house they had when he and Zack were first growing up. There was also a hole here under the hotel. Not a small one. Not an average one. A large one. One of the really large ones the book warned about and said not to mess with at all costs. He hadn't been underneath to the temple yet, but he knew they were dealing with one of these giant holes. He knew that Mr. Tipton had known it. Mr. Tipton had figured out what it was and kept it a secret. He had probably been dabbling in the black arts for a very long time, and finding one of these large holes had been too much of a temptation to bear. That was the secret of the hotel. He put the hotel on top of it, so he could study it. But he hadn't been able to bear the temptation to try to summon something out of it.

If Satan could theoretically be summoned out of a gigantic hole somewhere in the sea, maybe the Bermuda Triangle, and lesser demons could come out of a small holes like in the house he grew up in, then what would come out of the large hole underneath the hotel?

Was it really possible that what had happened here could jeopardize not just his and the lives of hundreds, but could somehow bring an end to all civilization as they knew it?

The book of Revelations had made it pretty clear what the last days of the world would look like (assuming you took it literally), but what if the world didn't necessarily have to end that way? What if it was possible that it could be turned into an apocalyptic wasteland long before that?

_Stop it, Cody. Stop._

In any other circumstances, Cody might say that his imagination was running away with him.

But he also knew that in these specific circumstances, that might not be the case.

Cody was trying to work out the whole thing in a scientific manner in his head.

_Okay. So we have a hole. Something was summoned out of the hole. Something different than what normally comes out of these holes. Something that makes people disappear. Or does it really make them disappear? Or just their souls? Maybe it's like a soul vampire of some sort? Is it confined only to a specific area that it can't go beyond? Is it also possible to expand that area? _

_Why does it go dormant for long periods of time then start up again later on? Why do some people disappear instantly and others take much longer? What if some souls are actually like charges that give it a very strong boost of energy, giving it enough power to temporarily become stronger? What if this special charge eventually starts wearing out, until another charge comes walking innocently onto its unhallowed grounds? What happens if it gets ahold of TWO or THREE charges all at once? What if it's realm of operation starts expanding? _

_What if it starts getting ahold of many, many more charges? Tens? Thousands? Hundreds? What if its area crosses paths with more holes? What if more stuff starts coming out of the holes? What if all the demons of hell suddenly start becoming unleashed onto the Earth? What if it's eventually so strong so that the Dark One, the Lord of the Abyss, Satan, Abaddon, whatever you want to call him, himself eventually emerges?_

The world could end. COULD. It was a theory. But it was also a possibility.

_'My God'_, was all Cody could think.

He had first come here tonight thinking all of this had just been a prank, then he had realized that Zack had been telling the truth and that his London's lives might be in serious danger. But it went far beyond that. There was much more at stake than they had realized. Much more. God. He couldn't believe it. The very fate of the entire planet could be hinging on this. On him.

He started laughing. His laughing was not of amusement, nor fear, but out of hysterical irony.

There was still the other book he hadn't gone through yet. He already knew what this one was going to be.

Still laughing, he picked it up, opened it randomly to one of the first few pages, and laughed harder.

Yes, this was the infamous special diary of George Tipton. Cody didn't expect it to tell him anything more than what he had already figured out. But he decided to skim through it anyways.

_August 7, 1946_

_It was approximately when I was 16 that I first began to be fascinated by the dark arts. I remember the skeptic I had once been. But there was a boy in my school who had been big into it. I remember, he had taken me with him one night to an abandoned house on the outskirts of our small town that I grew up in. It was out in the middle of a bunch of woods, a good walk from town into the country. _

_It was said to have been owned by an odd, eccentric family who were very secretive and only came into town when it was absolutely necessary to buy groceries, and other necessary things. Their kids didn't attend any of the public or private schools in the area, and you only saw them when they came into town with their parents. The kids were always silent and never spoke a word to anyone. You didn't dare try to talk to them, either. Their parents were always with them, and they were very scary people. I remembered them vaguely from when I was real young and I had seen them several times. Rumors abounded about what took place up at that house, from them being rumored to be a part of some strange cult and performing witchcraft, to many other sinister things. _

_I had gone up to one of the kids once and tried to say 'hi', but his mother had suddenly appeared and screaming at me in front of the whole store and telling me to stay away from her kids. That's the only time I clearly remember her speaking to anyone but the grocer who was ringing up her order. She raised such a ruckus that Mr. Rickman, the then-manager of the store, had nearly kicked her out. In retrospect, I think the only reason he didn't force her to leave was because of how scary she was. Several days later, he was hit by a car that swerved off the road and killed him. Rumors started going around that he had been cursed. I didn't know what to think of that._

_One thing I clearly remember thinking that day while she was yelling at me was: 'Her eyes'. Her eyes looked as normal as anyone else's, but I also remember thinking that there was something dreadfully wrong with them. It was like she was human, but there was something very horrifying behind her eyes that wasn't human. There was also something wrong with the kids' eyes, too. But they wasn't scary like in their mothers'. Their eyes were more sad. It was a little disturbing to look at them and see the degree of sadness in their eyes. That's how I remember feeling. Their dad wasn't in the store that day, but I noted the next time I saw him that he definitely had the 'scary eyes', too. _

_That day - that boy, I remember that when his mother was checking out, he was looking over at me, like he really wanted to chance coming up and talking to me. When his mother finished checking out, she looked down, saw him staring at me, and almost flew into another rage. 'COME, ARCHIMEDES!' she yelled, so loud everyone in the store stopped and glanced over in her direction. _

_I would only see him and the rest of his family a few more times in this life, but he never so much as looked in my direction ever again. When I was ten, we stopped seeing them around any more, and I eventually heard that they had moved away. _

_The boy I was with the boy in my school, Jamie, had said that it was a supernatural hotspot. He claimed there was a hole there, that he'd actually seen it. I didn't know what he was talking about, but he explained that it was the best place to perform your dark spells and rituals because they would have the most effect. I didn't expect anything to happen, but he was eager to show off, maybe a little too eager. I watched him stand there, in the middle of that spooky, abandoned house that we had broken into, and I was not scared at first, (I thought the whole thing was downright bogus) but when he started uttering incantations and rites, my feelings changed from disbelief to true terror. A loud banging started up around the whole house. A window blew in. I felt terrified, but I remember that the look in Jamie's eyes scared me even more. He was not terrified of the darkness. Rather, he had a look of depraved glee in his eyes, that's the only way I could describe it. I wanted nothing more than to get out of there._

_I had been from that point on terrified of the occult. I didn't hang around with Jamie much more either. But that incident also piqued my curiosity. I started reading books, first casually, then obsessively, as I tried to learn more and more about this fascinating realm that existed just beyond ours._

_Three months later Jamie killed himself. He plunged from the top of a ten story building. His parents found a horrifying note in his room that no one could explain. He claimed that he had decided to offer his soul entirely up to Lord Abaddon, that it was his destiny, and for no one to be sad for him, but to 'praise and rejoice in his evolution'._

_I remember the day I heard about his suicide I ran back to that old house. Somehow, I knew. I don't know how. I just knew. When I climbed through the broken window that me and Jamie had used before to get in, I saw it sitting there on the ground, in the middle of the living room. I knew how Jamie had gotten the book in the first place. It had come from this house. It had been left behind when its previous occupants had moved out. Before he died, Jamie had brought it back to its original home, in hopes that maybe someday it would pass onto a new owner. As it turned out, I was the one it got passed on to._

_This was nothing like any of the occult books I had read and studied in the bookstore on my off time from school and my part time job. This book discussed Satanic concepts and rites the likes of which I'd never heard of before, and which I suspected, the average dabbler had never heard of nor would ever hear of either. This was some extremely serious stuff. The kind of stuff that would be very dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands._

_I didn't dare take it back with me, but I came back to the house whenever I had any spare time, though I was still scared to death. Nothing jumped out at me whenever I entered the old house, though I didn't dare utter any of the incantations I read in the book. But I studied it with a serious awe and wonder._

_It was from the book that I learned about the holes, the nature of hell, the hierarchy of demons, and the theory behind summoning and controlling them._

_Now, let me say something about my past: I was bullied a lot in school. I had very little self-esteem, and up to that point I was used to letting everyone just walk all over me. At the small supermarket where I worked part time, my boss was an absolute demon himself, very hard to put up with, and verbally abusive to his employees, especially to me. _

_I didn't have any real friends at all, and I was very sick and tired and frustrated with the way my life had become, and the deep loneliness I felt. I blamed most people for being the cause of my loneliness and hated them all._

_I was also raised a Catholic, and I knew all about good and evil, and the saving grace of Jesus Christ. I never raised a fuss about going to mass with my family every time the doors were open. I did everything I could to be a good Catholic, but in retrospect, I think I only did that because I hoped that God would someday look down upon my plight and make things better. I wanted to have friends, meet a nice girl someday, get married, settle down, and be happy. I also wanted to have my own business someday. It was a constant dream of mine. I wanted to be successful at it and become very wealthy. I had hoped that if I did everything right, someday God would look down upon me and notice, and maybe through my trials and tribulations, maybe he would eventually reward me not just eternally, but on this world too. But it never happened._

_I guess that was the pull for the dark arts for me. The book promised that by consulting with demons, it would be a risk, but I could gain the things I wanted here and now. And I was so tired of being bullied, and the prospect of getting even, if only just a little, was very enticing. Oh, I knew I was doing wrong, and probably damning my soul to hell for eternity, but I wanted to try it! Just try it a little so bad! There was a hole in this house. I knew it. All I had to do was offer a little of my blood, and ask the Dark Lord to give me just a small sample of what he could do for me. Then I would hastily go to confession and repent. I would hide the book away and never use it again. Surely I could get God's forgiveness if I turned around and went to church more and tried to be a better person. Just let me have this one little thing. I tried to convince myself that it was nothing more than a small scientific experiment._

_I was beaten up really bad the day before I tested the book out for the first time. A kid named Richie, who had been the biggest antagonizer of me for the last three years, really let me have it. I made the mistake of saying something, only slightly, that was a very small attempt to almost stand up to him. But he wouldn't take that, oh no, he was going to put this poor, small, scrawny nerd in his place._

_The school nurse wanted me to go home, but I told her there was no need for my parents to come pick me up, that I could walk and I was fine to do so. But I did not go home. I went to the store to buy a few items. I knew from the book exactly what I needed. Then I went back to that house, and with the book open in front of me, shaking like a virgin about to be initiated into his first time, but with something even more dark and wondrous than sex, drew the circle with a specific occult symbol in the middle, arranged the items in their proper order, then took a knife and sliced it carefully across my hand and let it drip into the circle. I concentrated real hard on the face of Richie, as I uttered the necessary incantation while letting my blood slowly spill on the circle._

_I didn't know at the time if it would really work, but when I got back into town, I was shocked, a bit horrified, and a bit sickly elated when I saw on the street that was a few blocks from my house, the street I knew Richie lived on, that there were several ambulances and police cars._

_Richie had been hit by a car while crossing the street. Somehow, neither he nor the driver had seen each other at all. They were loading Richie into the back of the ambulance, and I'll never forget the sight of seeing him looking oddly twisted out of normal proportion and covered in his own blood._

_Richie did not die. But he never walked again. Many times I felt the urge to go up to him and rub it in his face, telling him I was the one who had done it, that I had exacted vengeance upon him as punishment for all the torment he had visited upon me. But I did no such thing. Such a thing would have been incredibly stupid and unwise._

_I knew I was responsible. I felt it inside. The guy who hit him was charged with reckless driving and attempted manslaughter, slapped a heavy fine, and faced nearly a year in prison on parole. I felt bad for the guy, since he had been the only innocent one out of this whole thing. I knew he had legitimately not seen Richie. It had been the demons. They had blinded both of them to each other. I had let them out. They had done their thing._

_I also did not go to confession, nor did I return to church ever again after the time I eventually got on my own and moved far away from that small town. Oh, I continued to go throughout the last of my teenage years, if only to make it appear as if nothing were out of the ordinary. I also continued to curse people. The allure of the power was too strong. It gave me a sense of control over my world I had never known before. I was no longer busting my butt to gain the acceptance of some deity who I felt never paid me one shred of attention. The Dark Lord paid me attention, and though I was scared to death for my soul, the allure of the power was stronger. I dare not recount beyond this first example the lives I used it to ruin or get ahead in life. I even used the spells in the book to help me meet the meet my wife, who will never know the true circumstances about how she really came to notice me._

_My blessings in life have never come from God, but the Devil. I kept it a secret from everyone, and as my business began to take off, I launched the incredibly successful Tipton hotel chain, and none of my employees nor anyone close to me ever had the slightest clue. Sure, there had been some close calls, but in the end, (more dark spells helped) no one ever found out the truth._

_I guess the reason I'm starting this journal is more out of guilt than anything else. I guess you could say it's a sign that I'm not too far gone like Jamie was. I actually do feel some slight remorse for the people I've hurt. I've also never used the book to excess. I've only consulted it and performed my rituals when I felt I needed to. I've been keeping journals ever since I was a kid, and I currently have another one in my office desk I've been working on, but they're all been nothing but half-truths. I write about my day and the way the business is going, but I've been leaving out all the stuff about the dark arts and my big secret. Can you imagine if anyone ever stumbled across such a journal as this one? But maybe I just want to stop justifying my depravity in my own head. Maybe I just want to write it all down here and see what it looks like from a subjective point of view. Not that I will ever stop. I'm in too deep. I don't think God would ever accept me back at this point, even if I did want to come back. I fear that when I die I will go to hell, and there's nothing that can ever alter that destiny. I doubt I will be so lucky that there will even be purgatory for me. Sometimes I want to go back through those hallowed church doors, come up to the alter, and kneel before the Sacrament and the Virgin Mary and call out to the name of Christ and the Almighty God and beg for forgiveness, but I never do._

_Maybe if I felt there was any salvaging of my soul at this point, but all I can do is keep going the destructive course I've been following thus far._

_George_

Cody flipped a bunch of pages and skimmed a random entry.

_June 7th, 1947_

_Meredith wants a divorce. Not than I can blame her. She is right on every point. I can be an absolute demon to deal with sometimes. I'm never there for her or the kids. It does strike me with some horror to realize I've turned into the type of person that I once regularly cursed. I know I am a tyrant. I once could at least feel some comfort in the fact that the people I cursed were those who truly deserved it, who bullied and oppressed the weak, who thought they were so much better than everyone else. Of course, it eventually became that I could rationalize seeing evil in everyone, particularly competitors and people who stood in the way of my business._

_Yes, I hurt them too, even if there was no actual valid reason for doing so. I can see my evil as if it were from the viewpoint of a third person. I know it's wrong, but I continue to do it anyways. I'm addicted._

_I write this entry now because I'm scared of what I want to do to her. The thought of cursing her before has never even crossed my mind, no matter how bad our arguments got or how mad she made me, but it's crossing my mind now. I don't want to, but I want to. Sometimes the Dark Man appears at the foot of my bed in the middle of the night. He knows what I want to do. He preys upon it, tempting me, trying to convince me to do it. Meredith cannot see the Dark Man. She knows nothing about how I and it want to absolutely destroy her. But I must resist doing it. The part of me that still cares for her, and for the kids... no, I cannot cross this line. But the Dark Man wants me to give in. May grace guide my hand so that I do not commit this final evil deed._

_George_

Cody wondered how London would take reading stuff like this. One thing was for certain though, if they survived, she eventually would, and Cody wandered what would happen to the Tipton empire if/when something like this got leaked out to the world?

Cody knew with absolute certainty, that as bad as things had gotten now, it was absolutely inevitable.

He flipped past more pages, skimming entries until he found a relevant one that caught his eye.

_September 8th, 1948_

_We broke ground on the Boston location. And let me tell you, what an incredible and horrifying day this has been. Incredible, because of something the foreman found. Horrifying, because while I have put the book away and not used it at all since the temptation to get revenge on my ex-wife (a temptation which I'm proud to have finally found the willpower to stay my hand and resist completely), what we have found creates an entirely new and much more astounding temptation._

_The foreman didn't know what he was really looking at. As far as he was concerned, he found some sort of incredible ancient temple underground, something that's very, VERY out of place in America, and even native American culture before the white man conquered this continent. No, I am convinced this one goes back thousands and thousands of years. He didn't realize what he was looking at. But I knew._

_I have read and wondered about the mega-holes for years, and have wondered if I should ever chance to come across one in my lifetime. I am almost certain we've stumbled onto one of them. This one is not so much spiritual, like most of them, but part physical. As in, it was specifically built to harness the energies of the underworld, perhaps by some sort of ancient lost civilization during the earliest years of our history. You can feel it when you walk into the temple. The dark energy. The foreboding evil presence. The foreman and the other workers are scared to death to go down there. I feel the fear when I step inside too, however, I also find that it's a feeling that I, in some sort of incredibly twisted manner, feel comfort from and embrace._

_Such a find, if turned over, would be a boon to the archaeological community, maybe even change the face about what we think of America before Leif Ericson first landed ashore with the Vikings._

_But I don't want that to happen. I want it all for myself. Oh, the thought of the experimentation that I could do. I know, I know. The book cautions heavily against tampering with these mega-holes, but my curiosity abounds. I have to know!_

_Plus, it's a hole. What if there are others like me out there, and they realize just what has been discovered here?_

_No, no. It must be all mine. I paid the workers and the foreman extra to keep quiet and fashion a secret entrance when they build the basement. Also, I'm going to have a special room commissioned just above it, on the top floor..._

_George_

_September 12th, 1948_

_We discovered something else today. Another underground secret. A set of stone steps that descend deep under the earth to a secret chamber. In this chamber, there is a tall monolithic statue in the center with holes carved in it. I do not know what it is for, but I get a much different feeling from this room than the temple. There is no evil presence here. In fact, dare I say, it's just the exact opposite. The absence of evil. I cannot explain it. I was filled with such incredible emotion when I first glanced upon it. I could not stop staring at it for half an hour straight. I felt two completely different contrasting feelings. The first was that I felt an undeniable presence of peace. There was something there. It was like entering into the presence of God. The second was that I wanted to run and hide. I wanted to run far away and hide myself. Maybe die. I thought I was going to throw up._

_The more I stood there, the more I wanted to grasp out for that perfect peace, and at the same time, I wanted to run and hide from its presence. It was the evil inside me, the darkness of my heart, the atrocious sins I've committed. I am unclean. I am the heart of darkness. Before the light, darkness cannot stand. Before the presence of God, Satan and demons cannot dwell. I have sold my soul to the Devil, that is why I can barely stand to stand before the presence of the Light._

_But at the same time, I felt something I've never felt before. It was like I had forgotten something, something that had been there before but had long left me, and I had not even noticed that it had left me, and had even forgotten it was even there._

_I remembered the days when I attended mass regularly, when I tasted of the sacrament and confessed my sins and sought to live a life like Christ, with love towards others no matter how "persecuted" I felt._

_But I allowed myself to taste hatred and give into the darkness. A large part of me wants to scream out and denounce the evil I have given testimony to in myself, but I feel so dirty, so unworthy, and it is too late for penance._

_And the hatred is still there. The lust for darkness is still there. The temple. The hole. It calls to me. I stand on the precipice of my own fate. _

_Such dark power. The type of which rarely does anyone who dabbles in the dark arts gets to tinker with. I want to see it. Just a little bit. I want to find out what might be able to be accomplished with such power._

_I cannot stand in the presence of the stone. I have made my choice. I have decided to continue to live with the darkness, if just for a little longer._

_The holes in the stone, I noticed, have symbols inside each one. I'm not sure what they mean, but I remember feeling it was really significant at the time._

_Not that it matters. I cannot face it any longer. But I'm having the foremen build a special entrance to it too, though, just in case._

_George_

_May 18th, 1950_

_The hotel's finished. It's a success. We've fashioned the finest hotel in Boston, even though I prefer to think all my hotels are the finest wherever they're located. There is a cause for celebration. But my celebration is for more than just the lucrative successes of business. I'm going to be dabbling a bit tonight. Tonight is going to be the first sacrifice. I'm going to take it slow. Not do the ritual to its fullest extent. I just want to see if anything comes out._

_George_

_May 19th, 1950_

_I didn't think the experiment worked. I was disappointed, and snuck down to the temple to think. But when I walked in, the dark presence felt stronger. It could have been my imagination, but I really don't think it was. I knew I had actually done something for sure, though, when I went upstairs and Elizabeth informed me there had been numerous customer complaints about strange banging sounds they heard coming from theirs or other rooms. _

_There was also an epidemic of a little girl who woke her parents up screaming bloody murder. She had an intense nightmare that there was something demonic floating above her bed, and she said it 'felt like it wanted to devour her soul'. Well, her parents and everyone else were passing it off as a nightmare, anyways. But I knew. _

_The experiment had been a success. I feel kind of bad almost that I'm involving everyone in the hotel and innocent guests in this, but what a fascinating experiment this is! Already the apparitions had been far more intense than anything I had anticipated! I'm going to conduct more sacrifices. But not for awhile. Don't want the word getting out the hotel may be haunted. Might bring too many people snooping about. I don't want that. I'll wait a few months, then another experiment will commence._

_George_

_November 1st, 1950_

_Tonight's the night. I cannot wait anymore._

_George_

_November 2nd, 1950_

_As I was performing the ritual, shadow people manifested in my secret room. I was scared at first, and the moment I saw them, I knew they came for my soul. I could not see eyes nor any other features, but I could feel their demonically longing gazes upon me. I was so unnerved I could not complete the ritual. Today we had a high number of check-out rates. I observed a number of remaining guests closely. Everyone that stayed acted all right, but a few, I noticed, looked positively spooked, a little too aware of everything going on around them as they walked. I think maybe I'm in way over my head. It was a fun experiment, but too dangerous. I don't think I should mess with it anymore._

_George_

_July 4th, 1951_

_I decided to celebrate Independence Day by taking a chance visit down to the temple. I hadn't messed with the room since that night. The number of spook-scare complaints have been dying down over the last few months. But as I stepped into the temple, I was shocked. I could actually SEE something coming up out of the hole. It was very vague and not all that easy to see, but it was like some type of transparent black mist wafting up from the bottom. It concerns me._

_George_

_August 16th, 1951_

_I've been checking the temple daily for mist. It seems to be about the same, though I think it's gone down some. Or maybe that's wishful thinking. I hope it's gone down._

_George_

_March 25th, 1952_

_I can barely see the mist now. That means what I hoped. As long as you don't bother the hole, it will eventually go away. But now a new, dark temptation has entered my mind. I wonder if I could make the mist reappear, and make it thicker? What would happen? I think of the shadow people in the room and shudder._

_George_

_March 31st, 1952_

_Light casts out darkness. Darkness cannot act unless pierced with light. When one places a night light in their room, the room is still dark, but the light keeps the darkness at bay just enough so that the darkness cannot fully penetrate. The darkness is still there, but the darkness cannot penetrate the light._

_George_

_August 23rd, 1952_

_I'm feeling bold again. I chanced going down to the stone. I felt that sick feeling of revulsion and peace when I went down there, but I bore it best I could. I copied the symbols, in order from up to down on a piece of paper. As I left and walked around with it, I glanced at the sequence periodically. Just a bunch of symbols, but I could actually feel a faint feeling of what I felt down there, just watered down. Or maybe that's, again, just wishful thinking. The stone represents something having to do with the light, and the darkness cannot stand its presence. I am going to use the symbols as protection. I can make the mist thicker, and the darkness cannot touch me. There are going to be multiple animal sacrifices tonight._

_George_

_September 24th, 1952_

_Oh, what a fool I've been! I thought I could keep the darkness at bay, but they spit in my face! I wore a special robe I secretly had custom made and ordered. It was decorated with all the symbols. I felt a strange comfort and peace when I put it on, but again, a revulsion as well, like I was unfit to be wearing it, and I wanted nothing more to cast it off, burn it with fire and spit on the remains. I felt like a false priest, performing dark rites while clothed as a priest of the light. The shadow people did manifest again, and the more the sacrifices went on, in greater numbers! I could feel their frightening hungry gazes, but I was wearing the robe. They wouldn't come near it. But I went a sacrifice and rite too far, I think. While I was doing my thing, the robe suddenly caught on fire! I was so shocked I threw it off! Even though it was covered in flames, I could see the symbols perfectly. They shone black completely through the flames. It sounded like the robe was screaming. It was such a horrible, twisted sound that I think I shall hear it in my nightmares for nights to come. But I barely had time to worry about the robe, for the shadow people started advancing on me. I could feel myself at death's door at that very moment. I was sure I was about to be dragged down into the bowels of hell. Such a fitting end for this one who lusted after darkness and didn't know when to quit._

_I immediately started doing something I never thought myself doing. Maybe it was just desperation, but suddenly my old Catholic roots started coming back to me, and I started invoking the name of Jesus Christ and the blessed Virgin, in hopes of staving them off. I won't forget what they did next. They stopped and laughed at me. It was the first sound I ever heard the shadow people make. I can still hear it in my head now. It was almost more terrifying than the screaming robe. _

_I knew that I was not qualified to utter the name of salvation. I knew I was about to be dragged down into hell for sure. But they didn't advance upon me. One by one, they started to leave. I was confused at first, but I know why now._

_Oh, I think it would have been better that they had._

_I saw as I left that room and headed down towards the lobby. I ran into the Dark Man._

_I have seen the Dark Man many times since dabbling in the dark arts, but never like this._

_I would dare say I've never found the Dark Man to be a particularly terrifying apparition, but I can certainly understand how those who are less comfortable with the darkness would be._

_This time he managed to make my hair stand on end. I have never seen him so clear, so real, so tangible as I did when I walked around the corner. Before, I had only seen him vaguely, like a spirit that was barely there, but you just knew he was, either because you felt him or just briefly caught him out of the corner of your eye for a split second, but this was not a split second. It was standing there just as any other person could be standing in front of me right now. It was still nothing more than a shadow, the form of a man, but not really. It takes on the form of a man, but it looks crooked. It is that way, because it is not a man at all, but intended to be a mockery of the image of a man. A mockery of what God created in His own image._

_I walked around the corner, and I SAW and FELT him grinning at me, as if to say, 'GOT YOU!'._

_I turned and ran screaming. I wanted to hide somewhere, anywhere, but nowhere felt safe. I took another route down to the lobby and stayed there the entire night. I wanted to be surrounded by people. When the number of people thinned out, and it was just the night manager and one or two other people, I left and hung out around the city, anywhere where there was lots of people. I felt scared to be left alone for even a moment. I felt that if I were caught by myself for even a short period of time, the Dark Man would come and take my soul._

_I did chance coming back this morning, and everything seemed fine. But once again, there was a high rate of check-outs, and a number of complaints about bizarre phenomena._

_The first thing I did was go down and check the temple. My God, I could see the mist again, and it was thicker and more potent that it had ever been before._

_It scared me, but I felt some comfort._

_I knew that this time had been the last straw. This was my swansong for dabbling in the dark arts. I knew I had nearly crossed a line I never should have. I would let it simmer down. The mist would eventually vanish, and everything would go back to normal. For the first time since I found it, I considered burning the book._

_I'm also thinking about going back to church, accepted by God or not._

_George _

_October 24th, 1952_

_Halloween is coming up fast. What a fitting time this is. You don't actually have to go outside to encounter things that go bump in the night. The Tipton Hotel is now an entire spook show in itself._

_I have encountered the Dark Man several more times, and each time is just as terrifying as the first. More apparitions abound. I have seen shadows dancing across the hallways. I was looking into the mirror the other day, combing my hair, and for a split second I felt I was not looking at myself, but something else, and I felt the terrifying urge to run lest something reach out of the mirror and pull me in._

_It isn't abating, though I pray to God it does. Just what have I unleashed here?_

_The mist is still thick._

_George_

_December 19th, 1952_

_I've captured some photographs of actual supernatural activity. I even got one, a very terrifying one, vaguely showing the Dark Man. The mist is not dissipating. Somehow, it looks thicker. The hotel is even starting to look different. There are times when I feel like I'm standing in the Tipton Hotel, but at the same time I'm seeing another place altogether. Sometimes I swear the walls even seem to have writing on them. Am I losing my mind?_

_George_

_February 5th, 1953_

_I have been discovered. It was Arthur, the 12 year old son of one of the maids who lives here at the hotel, Lorrie. He saw me sneaking down to the temple. I came down there today and found him standing there, looking entranced at the black mist. When I saw him, I'll never forget the strange impulse I had. I knew he would blow everything, and my long, dark secret would be discovered. I immediately felt I should run up to him and push him down into the hole. Kill him in some way. I was horrified at the feeling. I didn't do it. He saw me, and I think he was scared at first, but he asked me what he was looking at. I had no choice but sit down and divulge most everything._

_He is a bright young boy, very bright. I didn't divulge my practice of the dark arts, I merely pretended that the mist was of a source I wasn't sure of, and I was trying to figure out where it was coming from and how to stop it. He asked if it had something to do with the supernatural stuff that sometimes happened around the hotel. I said yes. Then he asked me if I saw the Dark Man, too. Those words chilled me to the bone, but I was not surprised. I wondered how many guests had encountered the Dark Man too._

_He promised not to tell anyone, but he really wanted to help. I don't know. It was the occult that brought this havoc to the hotel, and it was the occult that would theoretically take it out. I didn't want to get him caught up in the occult, or worse, the dark arts like I had been. But he seems to be aware to an extent of what it might take. I don't want to involve him in this, but at the same time, I feel some small sense of relief that I'm no longer carrying this weight alone._

_George_

_February 15th, 1953_

_Because Meredith got possession of Wilfred, it has been rare that I've gotten to see my own son. Of course, even when we were married, I barely made an effort to spend time with him anyways, which I deeply regret._

_Arthur is almost like the son I never had. But even moreso, he's like a colleague. Arthur is one of those exceptional kids with an IQ higher than average. The kind who will most definitely have a very promising future in the scientific field, if he so chooses to go down that path in his life. He does have a way of seeing things in a far different way than I ever could._

_While I didn't ask him to do this or get overly involved, today he came in with a huge stack of books related to exorcisms, demons, the occult, and the like._

_He'd been studying them, and he wanted me to look them over. I'm surprised he could even figure out where and how to find books like this._

_In truth, the thought of attempting an exorcism has never really crossed my mind. I guess that's a side effect of having messed with the dark arts for so long._

_I guess when you are so used to utilizing the powers of the darkness that when they begin to spin out of control, you don't dare even think of invoking the Light or the name of Christ._

_But that's what we're going to have to do, I think. Can I?_

_George_

_February 16th, 1953_

_I've dabbled in the darkness for too long. I took one of the books downstairs, and stood in front of the mist as an experiment. I tried to say a basic exorcism prayer. It didn't work. But as I began to leave the place I felt strange. Searing pain tore through the chest and back of my body. Horrified, I tried to walk through the hotel acting as normal as I could, till I got to my room and was able to look at myself in the mirror. Blood had already soaked through my shirt, I'm very glad I wasn't wearing something that would have shown it clearly._

_There were deep claw marks running all over my body, and they were bleeding profusely. I tried desperately to stop the bleeding and dress my wounds. I was never more scared in my entire life._

_There was a knock at the door before I finished. I wanted to ignore it, but I could see through the peephole it was Arthur. I wanted to wait until I had finished tending to myself, but there was no need to be worrying my only ally in the world. He was a little shocked, and I could see a bit of fear, but at the same time he was remarkably calm. That's one of his strengths. He has this rational, calm manner about him no matter what. Such a gift for a kid his age._

_Of course, I do wonder sometimes if that has something to do with the hardships he's already faced. Losing his father, for one. I explained to him the ritual had been a bust. I pretended like I was more confused than I really was. Although somehow, I could see something in his eyes. I don't think he knew right away, right then and there, but I think he at least had an idea. That scared me. I didn't want to risk losing my only ally in the world. Worse, I didn't want my horrible secret to get out._

_You see, I know exactly why the ritual failed. I am darkness. I have dabbled far too long in darkness. Darkness cannot fight darkness. For someone like me, who is the essence of a blackened soul to try and fight against the forces of darkness with Light, it is impossible. They were toying with me. Mocking me. They wanted to make sure I know that any attempt to stop them will be useless. They wanted to let me know to make sure to not dare try something like that again._

_I think Arthur has an inkling, and that frightens me. But I cannot say what is on my mind. To try and prod would only give myself away for sure. We talked for a few hours and decided it's best to hold off any more exorcism attempts for awhile until we come up with a better plan._

_As he leaves, I am filled with horror at the sudden emotion I'm overcome with. I have a sudden strange urge to grab him by his neck and crush it._

_I repress myself almost to the point of convulsions, but I will not give into such a dark deed. If Arthur noticed, he did not say anything._

_George_

_March 23rd, 1953_

_The Dark Man was standing at the foot of my bed tonight, just like before. But unlike before, I can see him more clearly. He doesn't want me to kill Meredith this time. He wants me to kill Arthur. Wants it desperately. I can't make him go away. He has power over me and he knows it. I have sold my soul to the Dark Lord. He can do with me what he wishes. I just hope that God has mercy enough to stay my hand._

_George_

_June 13th, 1953_

_I think the mist is getting thicker. Arthur thinks so, too. Maybe it's just our imaginations. I hope it is. Apparitions have not ceased. We are now having a regular handful of customers who come simply because they think this is just another haunted hotel, and they want to camp out and see if they see anything supernatural. A prominent magazine wanted to feature the Tipton as one of the Top 25 Haunted Hotels in America. I had to pay them handsomely to keep them from printing us in that article. Last thing we need is even more people poking around._

_We may have to try another exorcism. I am scared of what they might try to do to me this time, _

_George _

_August 10th, 1953_

_Arthur found it. My secret room. My sacrificial chamber. He had been suspicious of me like I'd suspected. I tried to stay away from the room, especially after I thought his suspicions had first been aroused, but I couldn't resist this time. _

_Not for casting dark spells. Simply because I've been hiding this journal in my bedroom this whole time, and it just didn't feel safe there._

_Second, I wanted to read through the book again. It's strange. Reading through the dark literature and depraved sorceries brought a wave of sick comfort and strange revulsion over what I had become._

_I didn't know Arthur had followed me and seen me enter the secret room. Later he would find my key and take a look for himself._

_I went last night to get my key to return to the secret room again. I knew it was wrong, but I wanted to read the unholy scriptures just one more time. I knew they would give me comfort. They are like a drug. I know I should stay far away, but the corruption inside of me begs to indulge myself just a little further._

_When I saw the key missing, I knew exactly what had happened. I rushed to the secret room, and I saw him there, reading the scriptures._

_I suddenly felt immense anger wash over me. I wanted to kill him right then and there._

_But the knowing sadness in his eyes as he looked up in me brought a much deeper agony in my heart then I had ever felt in my life. I crumpled to the floor, weeping._

_He said nothing, but came over to me, hugged me and sat with me._

_That someone could know the depths of my darkness and yet not reject me outright. _

_I do not deserve someone like that. Especially since, thoughts of his murder still sweep my mind, though I am fully convinced they do not come from me, but from a plane of existence much darker._

_George_

_October 13th, 1953_

_We're going to try another exorcism. Arthur thinks I'm right in my conclusion that I cannot do it because of my past. He's been trying to talk me into returning to my faith. But I cannot do that. I still feel unworthy._

_We're going to have Arthur perform the ceremony. True, we could bring a priest in from outside, but we're going to save that as a last resort. No sense on letting the secret of the hotel get out to anyone we can't trust nor control, unless it proves to be absolutely necessary._

_We've scheduled it several nights from now. I hope that it works. I also hope that Arthur may be protected. I would never forgive myself if something happens to him._

_George_

_*the next page is splattered with red splotches*_

_October 20th, 1953_

_I blacked out. Arthur was performing the ceremony. When I came to, the mist was thicker than before. Arthur was lying on the ground. There was blood everywhere. His body was cut to shreds. I could barely recognize him. I was holding a knife. I don't know where I got the knife. Oh, God._

_What have I done?_

_I should have known better than to be present. It got to him through me._

_Oh, God._

_Oh God Oh God Oh God._

_I had to hide the body. I couldn't risk being found out. I threw it down the hole._

_I'm covered in blood. I managed to make it up to my room without anyone getting close enough to take a look._

_I don't know what to do._

_Oh God._

_What have I done?_

_George_

Cody put the book down and sank to his knees. He felt like he was going to vomit.

Where he had been laughing hysterically before, now he found himself weeping profusely.

He sat there and cried for what must have been five minutes straight.

Cody didn't want to read anymore. He just wanted to take the last lyric, run out of there, go down to the temple, and end this horrific nightmare once and for all.

But he knew he couldn't stop now. He was mesmerized. He had to see the rest of the story.

Revulsion in his stomach, the taste of bile in his throat, he forced himself to stand up, took the book and started again.

He skimmed through many of the next few entries. He felt he had lost the will to read through the rest of the tome in its entirety. Would have taken too long, anyways.

Cody skimmed briefly through a bunch of expected entries about Mr. Tipton dealing with his grief and the encroaching guilt, strongly resisting the urge to commit suicide by throwing himself down the hole.

Most disturbing was that he has started taking to self mutilation, taking a knife and slicing deep slashes all along his body, sometimes not just using a knife but other objects, which would inflict more pain and inflict wider, deeper gashes.

Cody felt more sick the more he read. He was feeling lightheaded. The whole thing seemed so surreal. Like a dream. Surely the things he was reading about couldn't have really happened. He half expected to suddenly wake up in his bed, safe in his apartment, all of this nothing more than a nightmare brought on by too much stress.

But he knew that would not be the case.

He flipped through further came across an entry that caught his eye:

_July 1st, 1954_

_Lorrie hung herself today. Losing both her husband and her child were just too much for her. She knew he was dead. She suspected I did it. I've been implicated as a suspect in his disappearance, though I was able to manufacture enough of an alibi, and nobody can really prove anything. Arthur, to throw off suspicion of what we really were doing, had pretended like he was going off to a friend's house to spend the night._

_The police think he simply got abducted on his way._

_But Lorrie would always give me that look that suggested she believed something different. There was no proof. I had burned my blood stained clothes in the basement furnace._

_I am grateful the police didn't obtain a search warrant for the hotel. I don't know how I could have explained the secret room to them, or tried to have kept them out without arousing suspicion. I haven't dared going into the secret room all this time. I've risked keeping this journal in my bedroom again so I could keep writing my feelings down._

_The dark scriptures have no hold on me anymore._

_But Lorrie - an entire family destroyed, and I am to blame for it. Not that I've never destroyed people before. It's just that this is the first time I've felt true remorse and horror for my actions. I hate this. I wish there were some way to turn back the clock and correct all of this. Go back and stop myself from ever first attempting to give my soul to the powers of darkness._

_Though I would think I would not merely stop myself so much as perform the murder on my younger self that Arthur should not have had to gone through._

_George_

Cody flipped several more pages.

_August 19th, 1954_

_I haven't been able to revisit the hole since... Arthur was slain there by my hand. But I did today. The mist is thicker. The feeling of evil is stronger. And there is a stench. It smells of sulfur and death. I can smell it only faintly now, but I have this horrible feeling it will only become more pronounced as time goes by._

_The incantation is not reversing itself. I went too far on that night. And exorcism is useless. I don't know what I'm going to do._

_George_

_December 12th, 1954_

_Of course! The stone chamber! How could I forget it? I did something last night I thought I'd never do. I prayed. I never thought my prayer would be answered, and maybe it really hasn't. Maybe I just came up with the idea today on my own. But I immediately rushed down and took a closer look at it._

_I felt more of a sense of calm, less of the urge to throw up. True, it was still there, but it was duller than before. Maybe it was because I prayed? Because I'm slowly turning back to the light and turning my back on the darkness? Doesn't matter._

_The symbols. There is a sequence. One in each hole, all going down in a zig-zag pattern, connected by lines._

_If this stone was used previously as something to seal the hole, the symbols could represent a possible sealing incantation._

_I must look into this. I must see if I can find these symbols mentioned in any occult texts and what their possible translations might be._

_It's a long shot, but it's the only shot I've got._

_George_

_January 12th, 1955_

_Got it! One of them, anyways. It's a symbol that looks like an arrow with two slashes on the tail. You can't imagine how my heart leaped when I stumbled across the symbol and recognized it immediately._

_The symbol, or symbols, apparently come from a dead language that may have been one of the earliest languages spoken on Earth!_

_There is no known name for this language, nor do historians know when or where it originated from, or who used it._

_While the Sumerians and Babylonians are often credited for creating the first writing systems, it's disputed among a VERY small handful of historians as to whether or not THIS may have been the first writing system ever, but the language is so long lost and obscure that most just glaze over it and don't give it any heed._

_This gives me some more hope, but it's also going to be incredibly difficult. Trying to decipher a dead, obscure language? I've got my work cut out for me. It may be impossible._

_The book had a few symbols from what was supposedly this language, but I only recognized this one._

_George_

_February 13th, 1955_

_The reasoning for believing this may have been the first language to ever exist is because certain symbols from this language have been found in vastly different parts of the world. But again, they are so rare and obscure that archaeologists and historians tend to pass them over without much of a thought._

_There is no way of deciphering what the symbols themselves actually say. The language doesn't exist anymore. Nobody speaks it. There was no record kept in any other language as to how it may have been spoken._

_I feel like I'm at a dead end._

_George_

_February 29th, 1955_

_The history books left me nothing. I decided to try a new hunch. If this particular sequence had once been a sealing incantation, was it possible that there was more information in the occult texts I was more used to studying rather than academically written history texts?_

_I spent some time down at a local occult store - where I am well known - they allowed me to stay there and browse through all their books for my "research"._

_I found a symbol. And it even had a translation. It's called 'Frenic'. While this is an occult text, and such texts are often subject to heavy speculation which may or may not be real history at all, the book referred to it only as "Language 0 (Zero)." It holds to the theory that this was the original language spoken when the Earth was first formed and populated with humanity._

_Later, after the incident at the Tower of Babel, when all language in the world was mixed up, this original language was lost. The book speculates this may have been a special language that could actually control supernatural forces when spoken. (The theory behind this is that this language was used by God to speak the universe into existence, and since humans were 'extensions of God' made 'in His image', humans could speak this language and control supernatural forces too, but to a much lesser extent.)_

_In short, the language itself was actual magic, as one typically only reads about in fantasy novels. _

_Supposedly, when humans became vain and tried to build a tower in honor of themselves, God took the language away from them and mixed their languages up to divide them and keep them from becoming too big for their britches, so to speak._

_In vain, the ancients tried to remember the language and write it down, in the hopes of regaining some semblance of the power they once had._

_These translations may have been passed down through the generations by some people, in secret. The rest were lost._

_I really have no idea how much of that could be true, if any of it at all. But I really hope that it's still possible to find the rest of the translations I need._

_The only reason why the translation for 'Frenic' exists is because one of the ancients remembered the symbol and how to speak it, copied it down, and it was passed down through the family for many generations._

_There were probably many groups of people from this time period working with each other to try and find the words and translations of this ancient language and collect them. If that is true, maybe I stand a better chance than I think._

_The author of this book is a 'Mark Crawley'. I need to try and contact him. He may be able to point me in the direction of my next lead._

_George_

_March 15th, 1955_

_Mark Crawley is a very old man by this point. The impression I got from him was that either he was outright stark raving mad, or still very sharp and intelligent for his age. I kinda hope it's the former. Kinda not. See, as knowledgeable as he seemed to be on a lot of subjects, I don't know if I agree with a lot of his speculation. Actually, I don't want to. It kind of scares me._

_But while his book never discussed demons or holes or anything of the sort, he knew exactly what I was talking about and what I was there for._

_Actually, he held me at gunpoint for awhile while he tried to pin down my true allegiance and motivations for being there, which I will explain later._

_He could tell off the bat that I was a possessor of a copy of the evil book, 'Necronomicon'. _

_Yes, Lovecraft's fictional tome was, it turns out, actually loosely based off a real book that exists in the real world. Mark believes Lovecraft may have actually been a possessor of a copy himself._

_Mark owns one. He has never used it though. He only keeps it so that no one else might find and have the chance to use it._

_He showed me something that I would have never dared to try on my precious copy._

_He doused it with gasoline and tried to set it ablaze. He did, and the book did not burn. He told me my copy wouldn't, either._

_It is the evilest of all books, he told me. It's a collection of revelations given by demons to the most evil men who ever walked the Earth, and collected so that other evil men might have access to and use it. Mark believes there is a more sinister purpose behind the book; that it's actually an attempt by demons to communicate with mankind to trick them into eventually summoning Satan into our plane of existence._

_This would, of course, fulfill St. John's Revelation and herald in the end of the world._

_I explained to Mark my past and my plight. He did not seem disturbed or emotional in the slightest._

_He is willing to point me in the direction of finding the 'lyrics', as he calls them, but he is not optimistic of my success._

_He has become more of a fundamentalist Christian in his more recent years, one who specializes in knowledge of the occult, though because he actually owns a copy of the Necronomicon, that would probably make him the foremost leading expert in the world, though he keeps it a secret._

_There is no way of knowing if the copies of the Necronomicon can ever be destroyed, and he doesn't want knowledge of it getting out and it falling into the wrong hands._

_He told me point blank I may be the one destined to bring about the apocalypse, which is why he cares not to try and help me stop it, because as he says; "You cannot alter the plan of God."_

_But I don't want to be God's vessel for bringing about the end of the world. Good Lord, this is never what I wanted at all when I first started dabbling. I wish I'd never begun. I'm trying to repent now. Doesn't that account for anything?_

_But he is still willing to admit it's just as likely I made a mistake, it's not the timing of God, and it can be stopped. He won't take part, but he'll help me find the lyrics._

_I asked him why they're called lyrics. He said that the original language functioned differently than any modern language we're used to. Sentences in the original language are actually spoken in the form of sequences of words, and that the meaning of the sentence cannot be understood until the final word is said. In other words, it's like composing a song, but it's more than that. One different lyric could alter the meaning of the sentence entirely._

_Most combinations of spoken 'lyrics' were used to communicate, others could affect forces in the spiritual realm, IE holy magic._

_There is also a second language, he said, which is very similar, but an evil one. It comes from the demonic realm, and it's a perversion of the original language. A number of incantations in the Necronomicon are actually from this language!_

_He gave me a number of resources to begin tracking down the lyrics I need, and I was amazed at how extensive the materials and leads he had related to this very subject. When I asked why he had not dedicated more of his books to the subject, his eyes got very dark and he wouldn't answer me._

_All that he said was, and this chilled me to the bone:_

_"Even if you do stop it, that doesn't mean that you've won. Your war is not just against principalities and the forces of the dark world, but also flesh and blood. If you succeed, you may die yet. I would be surprised if you are the only one who knows now that that hole is there. I think the only reason you've been left alone is because you've done their work for them. But if you succeed in stopping it... they might not let that go so easily."_

_With a chill up my spine, I asked who "they" were. He wouldn't answer., He just said that, if I succeeded, I would need to be more cautious than ever before. He doubted that at this point if the apocalypse really was able to be stopped, even if I succeeded._

_I thought back to that strange family that lived at the house when I was growing up and shuddered. A horrible thought crossed my mind... but no. Couldn't possibly be. Couldn't possibly. I don't want to think about that._

_George_

_March 16th, 1955_

_Where had the family that originally lived in that house disappeared to? If they moved, why would they have left the Necronomicon, surely an incredibly rare book, and not taken it with them?_

_I couldn't help but wonder if for some reason they left it there for someone to find._

_Why?_

_And if they left it..._

_My God. They might know who ended up with it._

_Mark's implication makes me think of only one possibility. A secret society. Could that possibly be true?_

_A secret society that worships Lucifer and is trying to herald in the age of the Antichrist. My mind is going wild now with thoughts like this._

_Do they know I have it? Do they know I found one of the mega-holes? Did they let me do as I please, knowing I would do their dirty work for them and summon something out of the hole? Something that could eventually end the world?_

_Will they try to kill me before I find all the translations?_

_George_

_June 18th, 1955_

_I have not written much because everything is going incredibly slowly, as usual. Mark's leads proved useful. I've tracked down two translations. It was NOT easy, but I got them. I'm working on a third. It requires research nearly 12 hours a day, which I don't have, because I'm still trying to run a hotel chain and take care of cooperate affairs._

_I wish I could go faster. The mist looks thicker. The supernatural occurrences at the hotel are getting worse. The staff even seems to be noticing something amiss. The turnover rate has gone up. I see the Dark Man more frequently, among other things. He is taunting me. He knows his time is almost here, and that mine and maybe the rest of humanity's is almost up._

_George_

_August 19th, 1955_

_Not a day goes by when the crushing guilt of what happened to Arthur and Lorrie doesn't affect me on an extreme emotional level. Some days it's all I can do to just pull myself out of bed. I wish I could just lay down and die. But I can't do that. I still have a mission to complete. Maybe I'll kill myself when this is all over._

_George_

_November 20th, 1955_

_Five lyrics. What a nightmare it was to get them. This is going so slow. I don't think I can make it in time. The mist looks even thicker, but I must keep going._

_George_

_Christmas, 1955_

_I went down to the temple today. I just had a strange hunch something was wrong. When I went down, I saw a man there, standing in front of the hole, uttering words from his own copy of the Necronomicon. He didn't see me, I snuck up behind him and pushed him down the hole._

_Is this why the mist keeps getting thicker?_

_Are there others who have been coming here this entire time, unbeknownst to me, continuing the incantations I started, trying to keep the portal open, making it worse?_

_I now know that Mark's implication of a secret society is true beyond a shadow of a doubt._

_But how am I supposed to stop them? I can't control whoever might sneak in at any time with a copy of the Necronomicon. _

_Surely they know I'm onto them and killed one of their own. I'm sure I must be expendable by now. I wonder how long before they kill me?_

_George_

_December 27th, 1955_

_I'm carrying a special concealed dagger around with me at all times. It's the ceremonial dagger I've typically used for animal sacrifices. Now it will be my only defense. I'm growing extremely paranoid. I see conspiracy in the eyes of ever person I run across._

_I wonder if any of the hotel staff are part of the cult?_

_I need to look into adding a concealed handgun onto my person as well._

_George_

_January 2nd, 1956_

_I had to chance bringing in the foreman who was with me when we first broke ground on the hotel. Him and his workers know the secret, at least the temple part, and were all paid previously to keep quiet. Now I need a new favor, one that must be kept even quieter._

_I wanted him to redo the secret entrance, so that it had a special lock to which only I would be permitted access._

_But something terrified me to the core._

_He walked into the temple, and I saw no change on his face whatsoever. I hadn't told him about the mist yet. But when he walked into the temple and saw it spewing out of the hole, there was no shock. No surprise._

_It was as if he saw exactly what he expected to see._

_He caught the look in my face and eyes as I realized. He asked me if I was going to push him down the hole, too._

_I wasn't sure if I was about to be alive or dead. I took no chances, whipped out the concealed dagger and plunged it straight into his heart._

_The look of shock on his face gave me an almost sick, sadistic feeling of pleasure. Like before, I disposed of his body in the most convenient fashion possible._

_Down the hole._

_George_

_January 5th, 1956_

_The mist seems to have spiked. It's far thicker now. And - this is the most disturbing part._

_The statues that adorn the wall of the temple all around - statues of demonic beings - have started spewing some sort of green misty slime. That's the only way I can describe it._

_I still want to seal it, but I don't know who I can trust. It seems they must be sneaking down here on a regular basis for it to be getting this bad. I can't stop them. It's getting all so frustrating._

_No one has come to kill me. But I'm losing sleep over it. I find myself lately more and more spending my nights wandering the halls of the hotel, or going down to the temple, looking for anything out of order._

_Of course, there are many things out of order._

_The Dark Man sometimes appears to torment me, among other things._

_I think my stress and lack of sleep have forced me into some kind of delirium - when I wander the halls at night, I think I've started falling asleep standing up and sleepwalking sometimes._

_I don't think I've had a normal night's sleep in a long while. I can see myself aging quite rapidly in the mirror. It should concern me. But I have bigger worries on my mind._

_George_

_January 10th, 1956_

_I haven't been tending well enough to the affairs of the company - actually, I haven't at all. My plight consumes me. I am not in a fit mental state to run the company._

_Of course, I was never doing much to run the company since I found this location to begin with._

_Living inside a single hotel location when you are the CEO of a chain all across the nation - and soon the world - and only on occasion gracing the corporate office while the vice president takes care of most of the company affairs seems a very odd way for a CEO to act._

_I opted to stay here under the guise of learning the hotel trade not just from a corporate standpoint, but actually working directly in a hotel with the employees, to gain an insider view from the employee level and interact personally with the customers to figure out how to make the Tipton experience even greater._

_It was under the guise of competitive business, and it worked, though of course my real motivation was I wanted an excuse to be here and study the hole._

_But I'm no longer doing anything corporate wise anymore even in the slightest. Everyone in the corporate level has been getting frustrated with me, and I have determined I'm not presently mentally fit to run the company anyways. I have decided to temporarily turn it over to my vice-president, who will now be acting CEO, Jack Cochran. _

_He will take it over for about a year, in which I hope to have tracked down all the lyrics, and I will make the decision in about a year if I am fit to return to the company. _

_I have cited emotional illness as my excuse, and have made a public admission that I do not feel myself mentally well to be able to run the company._

_I cannot rescind my making Jack acting CEO until the year is up, nor am I legally allowed to make any decisions pertaining to the company till the year is up._

_Doesn't matter, anyways. I'll probably be dead by then. Either at the hands of the Dark Man, the unnamed secret society, or myself._

_George_

_February 13th, 1956 _

_I now know why the mist is getting worse and yet no one has come to kill me._

_They haven't been sneaking down to the hole and uttering incantations to keep it strong._

_It was all me._

_The key to opening the portal to the demonic realm requires blood sacrifices._

_I started it all with the animal sacrifices. But that was not enough - human sacrifices are necessary to open the hole to its greatest extent._

_Arthur was the first. The Dark Man used the darkness in my heart to posses me and offer up the first sacrifice._

_The two men from the cult were sacrifices two and three. They willingly sacrificed themselves to the cause. To see their god rise up from out of the hole and bring about the end of the world._

_I offered their blood to the hole, and it accepted._

_George_

_March 12th, 1956_

_I actually have most of the lyrics now. I haven't really been keeping track of when I've turned them up or how - because I'm far too busy to have much time to spend writing down every detail of my days in this journal - just the really important stuff._

_That's another thing that puzzles me. Surely the cult knows that I'm trying to stop it. Why aren't they trying to stop me?_

_I guess they feel my attempts will be futile. But I'm making great progress._

_George_

_April 18th, 1956_

_I don't feel we have much time left. I just know. I don't know what's going to happen when time runs out, but it's something horrible. I think of the Necronomicon's warning about big holes._

_I don't think this is the hole Satan will be coming out of, but whose to say this won't be the beginning of the end anyways?_

_I have no one to talk to about these things. My guilt consumes me. I wish for death, but I must keep struggling on._

_I think if I succeed, maybe I'll offer the hole one final sacrifice..._

_I hope my soul rots in hell for all eternity._

_George_

_May 21, 1956_

_I have most of the lyrics!_

_Just one more, and finally I will have the full incantation. It's been a long, tough road, but I'm very nearly there._

_I'm growing ever more paranoid. Surely they must know how close I'm getting. _

_The supernatural phenomenon is also at its worst._

_George_

_May 30th, 1956_

_No! It has DESTROYED the research I was using to find the final lyric! I watched the documents in front of me burn to a crisp! It never even touched anything else on my desk!_

_I went through so much trouble to get those documents, too. _

_This has been the most obscure lyric to find. It's actually been one of the original ones I've been searching for from the very beginning!_

_I got lucky to get the leads that I did. I do not think I can find anymore!_

_I'm starting to feel desperate. I feel the time for everyone at this hotel is drawing near._

_I don't know how I know this, just that I do._

_George_

_June 1st, 1956_

_Today, I did something I haven't tried since over a year ago._

_I prayed._

_Once again, I do not think my prayers were heard._

_George_

_June 3rd, 1956_

_The Tipton's 25th Anniversary Ball has been changed to this location last moment._

_Why?_

_God knows!_

_But I have a strange, disturbing feeling._

_What if Jack Cochran is one of them?_

_I can't do anything to have the order taken back. I have no power now, not until the year outlined in the agreement is up._

_I thought of going down to corporate, getting Jack alone, and killing him._

_But it would be too hard to hide. There's not a convenient hole to hide him in. And of course, the hole doesn't need any more sacrifices anyways._

_But what if Jack's innocent?_

_But I don't feel in my mind that's the case._

_Is that when they're going to kill me? The night of the ball?_

_George_

_June 15th_

_A mass sacrifice... yes. That's why Jack wanted to have the ball here. When the Dark Fall rises, it will take all of us for itself. _

_Jack will be here that night. If the sacrifice begins, I will personally find him before it takes either of us and bring him to a painful end._

_George_

_June 17th_

_I'm going to try to find the lyric through divination. It's going to be tough, because I'm going to have to do a lot of research to get the ritual just right. If it works. I have no other options._

_I feel the night of the ball will be our end. I don't know why. Maybe I'm just paranoid. But again, that's just how I feel._

_George_

The journal stopped after that.

Cody wasn't sure how much more of the journal he could have taken, anyways. He hadn't even read the thing in its entirety to begin with.

He felt tired. Really, really tired. He wanted this whole thing to just be over. No more.

No more loss of life. No more death. No more demons.

The last page of the book held what he came for.

He didn't feel excitement nor fear. He had been through such an emotional whirlwind tonight, especially while reading the journal, that he just felt exhausted.

He thought maybe it was a good thing he felt nothing right now. Because he knew, the first slightest real emotion he DID feel... he would probably snap.

He opened his notebook.

He wrote 'Oliviak' in its correct spot, and then by logical deduction, wrote 'Raka' in the blank spot.

He now had the lyrical sequence in its entirety.

Lussa, Kars, Oliviak, Frenic, Morcana, Tyma, Malus, Larsus, Olkas, Mortym, Ixiam, Raka.

He put the notebook back in his bag and closed the journal.

It was time to end this.

He had every confidence they could now.

Their time was not over.

They had found all the lyrics in time.

He would head down to the temple. But first, he would try to rendezvous with London.

He hoped she was alright. But he had every confidence she was. They would go down to the temple, and finish this for good.

He shouldered his bag and left behind the room of horrors.

(2)

London had not been able to commune with the spirit of Andrew Verney.

Something was wrong with the room when she put the goggles on. There were no words. Actually, they WERE there, they were just completely wrong.

Where the words and pictures would have been, they had blackened and were now impossible to read. It looked like how something would look if you wrote a sentence on a piece of paper and then scribbled all over it till it became impossible to read. Also, the words were not shifting. It was as if everything had become frozen.

London slowly took off the goggles. Fear was beginning to well up inside of her.

This wasn't right. This was all dead wrong.

Suddenly she felt she might be better off not finding the lyric, that she should get out of there at once.

Something told her in the back of her mind that their time was up. But at the same time, she couldn't run.

_Well, if I'm dead anyways, what makes me think I can get out of the Ghost Zone alive?_

Maybe it was just this room. Maybe everything out in the hallway was completely "normal".

But she couldn't bring herself to go outside and check.

She looked all around the room. She couldn't see anything. Nothing appeared before her and tried to grab her.

She was so scared she felt like crying, yet the adrenaline was pumping so hard through her bloodstream she couldn't bring herself to process the emotions.

She walked over to a random corner of the room and started the process of going through it.

She started in the bedroom, turning it upside down. The bathroom was next.

She started out slowly and carefully. Opening every drawer, every cabinet, going through everything with a fine tooth comb.

In the living room, she started tearing the cushions off the couch.

Her movements started getting more frantic. By the time she got to the kitchen area, she was practically a mad woman.

She tore open the cabinet doors and drawers with a panicked rage. Her breathing began to get more and more quicker, and she was taking deep breaths.

God, she wished Cody was here.

Nothing. Nothing at all. Nothing anywhere.

She walked over to the closet.

Some clothes there, probably Verney's. A few suitcases. She should go through them.

But she didn't want to. Her panic was reaching its greatest height.

She wanted to run. Needed to run. Be in Cody's arms.

_Cody..._

She couldn't think straight. Couldn't take anymore. She turned to run out of the closet and for the door, and when she did, the Dark Man was behind her.

In a few seconds, she saw no more. Just blackness.


	24. Out of Time

**Chapter 20**

**Out of Time**

(1)

Cody was trying to sprint. Now that he had all the lyrics, this needed to be ended as soon as possible. Of course, it was now that he realized he was probably just a little out of shape.

When he was younger, he had been obsessed with exercising on a regular basis. Ever since leaving college though he'd kind of let himself go. Sure, he was still slim, but his breath was getting shorter than it should have been from this kind of run.

He'd once been able to run several miles without a change in breath. Now his breathing had started becoming hitched just from the first stairwell.

But he had to run. They were so close. They had to do this. HAD to. Before the Dark Fall appeared.

He made his way to the 31st floor. Just a short sprint down to 3179. He wondered if London was still here. Or had she already found the last lyric and headed down to the temple to complete the incantation? Cody thought that if she had already made it and sealed up the hole, he would give her a kiss that would make the previous one look like a small peck on the lips.

He stopped in front the door and composed himself to get his breathing under control before he entered. He was sweating, though he felt he shouldn't have been considering how cold it was in the building.

He stopped and noticed that. It felt like the temperature had dropped significantly since he had been in Mr. Tipton's secret room.

That concerned him.

But they had all the lyrics. They were going to be okay. He tried to push his concerns aside and entered the room.

(2)

Cody knew there was something dreadfully amiss when he entered the room.

The closet door which was right next to the door leading into the room was wide open. She was not in there, but her stuff was lying on the floor inside.

His heart began to sink when he saw it.

_No. Don't think that, Cody. No, no._

He looked around. The room had noticeably been torn apart, evidence London had been looking hard for the lyric. Maybe too hard. She seemed to have gone a little wild in the kitchen.

He checked the bathroom and bedroom, but no sign of her. Maybe she had already found the lyric and gone down to the temple?

But no. She wouldn't have left her stuff behind.

He walked over to the closet and looked through the stuff on the ground.

There was something charred there. It was her notebook. It had been set aflame, but nothing else had been touched. Well, except for the goggles. He picked them up and saw they were cracked through the middle.

They would not be working ever again.

London's purse was also there. He saw no need to bother going through it.

Cody leaned against the wall and started crying.

Heavy, heaving sobs.

He thought he had never cried so hard in his life.

He knew the worst had finally happened. London had been lost forever.

He should have never left her alone. But he knew his logic had been sound.

But why had it taken her? Why couldn't it have taken him instead? Given her a chance to survive?

_Stupid... stupid..._

He didn't want to live anymore. He wasn't sure how he could find the will to keep living after all of this was over. It was just too much. He felt more alone than he had ever felt in his life.

_Zack... London..._

But he had too.

He suddenly realized he was in mortal danger too. If it had gotten London, it would be coming for him soon.

He had to run. Time was up.

He had to get to the temple now.

He was still crying, but he forced himself to become more composed. He reached into his bag and pulled out his makeshift cross from earlier.

The rage returned to his eyes from earlier when he had been reading Zack's PDA.

This was going to be the end. Do or die.

The final run.

Slowly, he forced himself to stand, then looked towards the entrance of the closet.

Nothing there.

Still, there was no guarantee there wouldn't be something waiting right outside to grab him.

London had probably come in here and not seen it right behind her.

His breath was hitched. He was sure a panic attack was coming on. But it didn't matter. He had to make it. He just had to. With all the inner strength he could muster, he bolted into a run out of the closet and for the door.

(3)

There was nothing waiting for him in the room and out in the hallway.

He ran for the stairwell.

He ran down many flights of stairs, heading all the way for the first floor. His breathing became more ragged with each flight. His knees felt like they were starting to turn into jello. His lungs felt like they were on fire.

But he couldn't stop now. He had to make it to the temple.

He held onto hope he could run all the way there and make it in the nick of time to stop it.

He hadn't seen anything thus far. Maybe it was only London's time was up and his hadn't come yet?

He had to hope. Hope was all he had left.

He busted out of the stairwell and headed straight for the lobby.

From there, it was a simple route.

_Cross through the restaurant, make my way towards the back of the hotel, the basement entrance is there, and from there..._

He had to make it. He had to.

He was almost at the lobby. It looked like salvation. The basement would look even more like salvation. And the temple...

He was going to make it. He knew it. Nothing had intercepted him yet. Maybe nothing would. Maybe he had time!

Despite his burning lungs and aching legs, he forced himself to pick up the pace and run faster.

He was going to make it... he was going to make it...

He stopped short and nearly tripped over himself when he made it to the lobby and saw his brother Zack standing there, grinning at him, almost to the point of laughter.


	25. Dark Fall

**Chapter 21**

**Dark Fall**

(1)

Cody stood dead still. His breath caught in his throat. His heart was beating ninety miles a minute, his brother standing several yards away in front of him.

"Gotcha!"

Was all Zack said.

"Man, I can't believe you fell for it again, brother! That was the most ELABORATE prank I've ever done! The journals, the 'secret' room, getting London Tipton in on it... man, you wouldn't believe what I had to go through to get that fake altar shipped out here and that book made... the 'Necronomicon'! I can't believe you fell for that!"

Cody didn't say anything. He was still frozen to the spot.

_Tricked? Tricked again?_

His mind tried to make rational sense of it all.

"And the special effects guys... this all set me back a huge chunk... but it was all worth it to see your face right now!"

Cody couldn't speak.

"Come on, now, Cody, not going to say anything? Not going to admit that you were got good by your ol' big brother again? You don't have to look so shocked. Come on over here and give me a nice, big hug..."

He stretched out his arms and started to walk over to Cody. Cody, still in an almost catatonic state, instinctively began to step back.

_Tricked. It was all a trick. Zack got me good. I was fooled again. Just his stupid little baby brother... it was all a lie.._

At least, that was what he wanted to believe. He tried to. Tried to accept this was all a joke and that he had been gotten again, but when he took a closer look at Zack, he wanted to scream.

Zack didn't look normal. He looked all crooked and kinda out of proportion.

_No..._

_No no no..._

"What's the matter, Cody?" Zack grinned, and Cody felt there was something unnatural about that, too.

"Don't tell me you're taking this all seriously? I know this is the most elaborate prank I've ever pulled, but you can rest easy now. Punch me if you want! Don't you want to do that?"

"Stay back." Cody managed to weakly force out.

"I'm sorry? You're really going to need to spe..."

"I said _STAY BACK_!" Cody yelled, and he raised his cross up to eye level so it was between him and Zack.

A bright light illuminated from it, and all of a sudden Zack shrieked a demonic shriek and backed away.

Cody saw it, only for a second, but Zack changed shape temporarily when the light shined on him. It was so brief it was gone in the blink of an eye, but some of Zack's features had temporarily disappeared, and in their place had only been darkness.

The light from the cross disappeared as the Dark Man hung back.

It looked up at Cody, still in the crooked image of his brother, and his eyes were red.

It gazed at Cody, smiled, and began to laugh. It was a twisted, demonic laugh.

It opened his mouth, and the voice that came out was no longer Zack's, but something more evil.

"Do you really think that can save you now? This is MY unhallowed ground! The angels that saved you from my grasp so long ago cannot help you now!"

"But you can't come near me as long as I have this!" Cody said weakly. "I'm going go down to the basement, then the temple. I have all the lyrics! I'm going put an end to you! You will never hurt anyone ever again!"

"Ah, Cody." It said. "Lost your faith for so long. Finally regained it back. Just like the first one. He was my puppet for so long. I remember, when he dug his knife into the boy, how his screams echoed like music in my ears. The blood... Do you know how it feels to desecrate one of God's creations? What it feels when one of them willingly gives their soul over to us? What it feels like to bring pain and death to one who won't turn to us? To bring about their painful demise?

They tried to stop us. One had already given himself over to the darkness long ago. He tried to fight darkness with light, though his soul was still darkness. The other one, who was always the Light's, could not stand against my power over the one who had sold his soul to me. The innocent blood of the boy was the most potent. Ah, he did ascend to heaven that day, unfortunately, but not before he gave me life! You will give me even more life! Faith itself cannot save you from the darkness."

Cody was silent. The Dark Man began advancing towards him again. Cody started to back up.

The closer the Dark Man got, the more the cross began to light up again.

"You have no power against the light." Cody said.

"Oh, but I do! Sometimes it is the most innocent and good intentioned animals that give us the most power. They think they can stand against us, but they're wrong. Their cross only saves them by grace, but at some point, that grace will inevitably run out. Like here."

The light from the cross began to get brighter. The light illuminated parts of the Dark Man, which began to change from human features to pure blackness. There was a burning smell, like sulfur.

"Don't come any closer!"

But the Dark Man did come closer. It was pushing Cody back into the hallway, where there was no escape.

Crap. There was no way to get around it and head for the temple now. It was preying off Cody's fear, and Cody feared he was giving in.

How long before he was backed up against a wall, and the Dark Man would get closer, not caring about the tiny makeshift cross trying to burn it, to it nothing more than a human considered flesh wounds? All it cared about was Cody, Cody and nothing more, and it would have him at all costs, and then...

Cody glanced towards the direction of the stairwell.

The Dark Man saw this and grinned.

"Running, Cody? Losing your faith already?"

Cody continued to breathe heavily. The Dark Man stopped advancing.

"I want to share one more revelation with you, Cody. Before the end. I want you to understand the extent of my power, and why no one in the world can stand against us, especially our god, Apollyon."

Cody stood as still as the Dark Fall. He held his cross tightly, still illuminating light, ready to hurl it at the slightest movement and make a run for it.

"Our god has perfected deception to an art. In fact, most people don't believe we actually exist. You've seen that. Oh, their subconscious minds won't fool them. Deep down, they always know the truth. Hence why they tried to seal off my domain. But how many tried to deny that something... as you humans like to call it... 'supernatural'... happened on these grounds? If humans believed we existed, it would make it a lot harder to summon our god into this world. But you all, through your pride, your vanity, your fear, your denial... you've made things all too easy for us. And now, the world finally ends tonight, with you."

Its eyes flared an unholy red. Cody truly did believe the world would probably end with him tonight.

"One more revelation, Cody. I failed that night, when I absorbed the souls of 600 people. Such a magnificent sacrifice. But George Tipton and Jonathan Crowshaw were the only souls I was able to absorb who had the special psychic energy necessary for me to expand my domain. Such a bizarre coincidence, considering ten percent of you animals have this special connection to the spiritual realm, and there were only TWO out of six hundred that night. We feed off of this energy. It is necessary for the perfect sacrifice. Without it, I grow weak. The energy does not last for long. All souls are good. All are not preferable. I was only able to get two of these 'special souls' the first night. Then came the young boy and that police sergeant. Always two and no more. I cannot work with only two. I've already taken all the souls I can get from this place. It's so... lonely."

It grinned even further, if such a thing was possible. Cody found himself feeling nauseated at the grin.

"Surely there are a few more running around in the city? Ah, I could take the entire city by morning, and several days later, the world! But I need a third 'special' soul. The first was that heiress' boyfriend. Then came your brother... and when he came into my domain and I probed into his mind, I was so pleased to learn of your existence. Twin brothers, both having that special connection to the world beyond the physical realm... Cody! You are my third!"

Cody shuddered. His theory had been right. He suddenly found himself beating himself up in his head.

He had been stupid. How could he have possibly tried to have carried on the work when it was his specific presence that placed the entire world in peril?

"Oh, and Cody..." It said.

Cody's cell phone began to ring. The sudden sound jarred him so much he almost dropped the cross. But he couldn't bring himself to reach down and pick it up.

"Answer it." the Dark Fall said.

Cody didn't want to do any such thing.

"Go on. Answer it. I'll wait right here. I promise."

Cody was disturbed that for a split second he thought of doing it. But what was he thinking? Was he really going to listen to a self-proclaimed 'master of deception' and trust it to keep standing there while he took a very ill-timed phone call? He didn't reach for his phone.

"You really should take that call, Cody. I think you will be surprised."

Cody gave a weird look. Surprised? Did the Dark Fall know who it was? Furthermore, who would be calling him at this early in the morning, anyways?

Keeping his eyes completely on the Dark Fall, he slowly reached down and pulled his cell out of his pocket. He noted that it had actually been ringing this entire time, which was strange, because after seven rings it was supposed to go to voicemail. It had been ringing longer than that.

Cody opened it and put it to his ear.

"Hello?"

The Dark Fall's mouth moved in sync with the voice on the phone. It was the voice of his brother Zack.

_"If you're there, please pick up!_

_Darn it, don't you ever turn this thing on?_

_Yeah. I know what you're thinking._

_'That Zack. Only ever calls when he needs a favor or something is wrong.'_

_Well, something is wrong. Very wrong."_

Cody's eyes began to widen in shock as he began to realize.

_"Look, I know this sounds really strange, but I need you to drop everything and come here right away. I don't think we've got much time left._

_I think we've just made things far worse. _

_But listen, you have to be really caref..."_

Now the voice took on a completely mocking tone.

_"Oh God... it's here._

_It's right outside my door!_

_I can hear it whispering my name! It knows my name!_

_But I don't think it can..._

_OH NO. I FORGOT THE..."_

Cody flicked off the phone and pocketed it.

Beads of sweat paraded down his forehead, despite the fact that the room was remarkably cold.

_No..._

He'd been had. He remembered now.

_Zack had sounded genuinely panicked. But that was to be expected. Zack could practically win an academy award when he was screwing with somebody. But there was something else about the voice too. Cody wasn't sure what it was. He thought it was probably just his imagination, but..._

_**something seemed a little off?**_

No...

_I'm going to give a call to Cody, explain everything. I'm not sure if he will believe me, __**but he has to know to stay away from here and not come looking for me.**_

No, no.

_Look, I know this sounds really strange, __**but I need you to drop everything and come here right away**__. I don't think we've got much time left…_

No, no, no.

Zack had never left that message on his answering machine. Zack had never wanted him to come here and put his life in danger.

Something else had left that message. For a more sinister purpose.

"Their souls all belong to me. As do their voices. Their minds, bodies and spirits are all mine to do with as I please."

The Dark Fall started to open its mouth. Its mouth opened far wider than it would be possible for any human being.

Cody gazed into its mouth. It was like looking into a chasm.

Cody freaked and almost averted his gaze, lest he become hypnotized yet again and this time be truly powerless and unable to run.

But then he saw them. It was hard to make out at first, but he saw them. Faces. Deep within the chasm. He could see them, their faces contorted in fear and agony. He could hear thousands of whispers. He saw his brother. London. Timothy. Many other faces he didn't recognize. His brother gazed at him from the abyss, with the most sorrowful of eyes. The Dark Fall would not give him the chance to linger on the sight of his brother, his true brother, for a moment longer. The chasm closed, and the Dark Fall reverted back to 'normal' human form.

"Do you see now why you humans cannot win against us? Do you understand now the power of our deception? Do you understand why everything is futile now?"

The Dark Fall started advancing again. Cody stood his ground.

"Screw you." Cody said.

It kept coming. Cody kept standing, unmoving.

"Tell me one thing... if you are so powerful, then why is it that something like this is going to hurt like hell?"

Cody hurled the cross at the Dark Fall.

It hit dead on and struck the center of not-Zack's chest. The cross came to life and bathed the area around the Dark Fall in an illuminating light.

The Dark Fall let out a loud shriek. It was one of the most horrifying sounds Cody had ever heard.

The smell of sulfur was strong. It was a smell which smelled like it was not just sulfur but mixed with decay and something rotten. It was one of the nastiest things Cody had ever smelled.

Cody didn't waste any time. He bolted for the stairwell. He knew exactly where he was headed.

He could have bolted for the lobby doors, but he knew he probably wouldn't make it very far. He needed a refuge. Somewhere to be able to collect his wits. To think. He headed for Jonathan Crowshaw's room.

From the bottom of the stairs he heard a yell.

_"!"_

It was coming for him. Cody ran faster. He wasn't sure if he was going to make it. Surely the Dark Fall could move a lot faster than he could. Surely it would overtake him in a matter of seconds.

Cody picked up the pace when he realized the walls, floor, and ceiling around him were beginning to get darker.

He burst into the hallway. Almost there... He didn't dare turn around to see if anything was behind him. He made it to Jonathan Crowshaw's room, slipped in, locked the door, and bolted it.

(2)

All the crosses in the room came to life, even the ones on the floor where the carpet had been cut out, and they began exuding a great light. Cody could hear the shrieks of the Dark Fall outside the door.

_"COOOOODDDYYY!"_

Cody backed up as far into the room as he could go, eyes never leaving the door.

"You think you're safe now, don't you? Well, you have to come out sometime! Just like your brother and that girl did! Just like Jonathan Crowshaw did! The cross cannot save you forever! Nothing can! And when you start to get desperate... I'll be waiting!"

Cody slumped down and sat against the wall. Still watching the door. Nothing came in to get him. Nothing could. He was safe for now. But not forever.

He had only two choices. Either stay in this room and starve to death. Or bust out when he thought the Dark Fall wasn't hanging around and make a run for it.

Of course, that had been the mistake his brother had made.

Cody knew he had only the first option. He was going to have to starve to death. Die here. Rot.

If he left this room, the world would end. The only way to ensure the safety of everyone outside was to die here.

He would probably be better off if he just killed himself right now and got it over with.

It was funny. For once, the world actually WOULD be a much better place if he were to just put a knife to his throat and end it all now.

He had a pocket knife. He thought of severing his jugular.

Let the Dark Fall chew on THAT. Let it go on in despair, realizing that it had lost its chance yet again. Then someone else would come, with most of the lyrics, find the rest, go down to the temple, and probably put an end to it all.

Yes. Ending his life would be the most logical solution. Cody pulled his knees up to his chest, buried his head in them, and not for the first time that night, cried.

He cried for himself, for Zack, for London, and for all who had gotten caught up in this nightmare.

He cried for a good ten minutes.

He thought of what his life had been. He thought of what it could have been. He wished things could have turned out differently. He wished he could have a second chance. But this was reality, and reality was harsh and cruel.

_So, this is how it all ends now. The life of Cody Martin..._

Of course, many people died before their time, anyways. Whether it was the six year old who was struck by a car in the street, or the young aspiring college student who had his whole life ahead of him who was stabbed to death in a fatal mugging just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or a whole host of other possible scenarios...

It was the curse of living in a fallen world. Many people who had the potential of a bright and prosperous future never got to experience it. How could he have ever thought he was exempt? How could he have ever conceived of the idea he was ever meant for anything great?

He never was, even from the beginning. It was not right or wrong that nothing in his life ever panned out for him. That's just the way things were. That's just the way things were supposed to be. There was no point in crying for the things that could have been. They were never meant to be anyways.

Cody wondered why the angels had bothered saving him. Any potential of saving the world had been in vain. All he could do now was end it. Or himself.

He fished out his pocket knife. He selected the blade. Slowly, he lifted it up to his neck.

Cody felt no more sadness, no more fear, no more regret. This was just the way things were supposed to be.

One more unimportant life, one that was going to end in not in a blaze of glory, but a pathetic whimper.

There would be one more disappearance tonight. But neither would it be his soul nor his body.

His soul was going to heaven. Probably. His body would stay here. He would not vanish into thin air, but remain a corpse. And any hope the Dark Fall had of using him for its own evil designs would be lost.

He put the blade to his neck and prepared to slice.

Then the voice started up.

_"COOOOODDDYYYY."_

Blade still to his neck, he grimaced in anger.

He hated this thing. He hated this thing so freaking much.

He didn't move a muscle.

_"COOOODDDYYYY. HEEELLLPPPP MEEEEE. THE PAIN. I CAN'T TAKE THE PAIN ANYMORE."_

Cody lowered the blade and his face contorted in a rage.

The utter nerve of this thing!

_"COOOODDDYYY! WE'RE ALL HERE! WE'RE ALL WAITING FOR YOU TO JOIN US!"_

_"COOOODDDDYYYY. WE'RE COMING TO GET YOOOOUUUU."_

Not just Zack's voice, but many others joined in. He could hear London's voice, and many others he didn't recognize. They were all begging him to join them, pleading, mocking.

He was so sick of this thing. He didn't want to kill himself. He wanted to kill it! Hurt it! Make it pay for all it had done! He wanted vengeance. But he didn't know how he could exact vengeance.

He put the blade down and sat, thinking.

All he could process at the moment was anger. The voices just kept making it worse and worse.

Within a split second, he had lost the will to suicide. But he couldn't think of anything else to do.

He put his head in his knees again.

He reached over without thinking and grabbed the blade. Slowly, he began to cut a pattern into the floor. It was the shape of a cross.

He whispered as he cut;

_"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of the hole that is under this hotel, I will fear nothing, for you are with me!"_

He repeated this mantra over and over, still cutting.

"Help me remember, please!" he said. He didn't know why he said that last part, but all of a sudden, it hit him.

It was instant and revelatory and horrifying all at once. Something in Cody's mind snapped, as if something had been locked away, chained up, and now the chains had instantly fallen off, and suddenly he remembered everything.

The last memory that he knew he had forgotten was so terrifying it shot chills through his spine, as if he were suddenly reliving it all over again.

_No... no... couldn't be... couldn't have been..._

Yet, he knew it was true. He forced himself to realize it was true, lest the memory slip away once more and be lost to him forever.

He sat there, shivering, thinking about it, wondering if it could be used somehow in his plight.

But yet, he felt like it couldn't possibly help in this situation. The Dark Fall had grown too strong.

However...

He thought of something.

He reached inside his bag and pulled out a pen. He stared at it.

_So simple... really. Maybe too simple. And stupid._

He thought carefully. Dare he risk the fate of the entire world over something with such a low probability of succeeding?

But yet, without a second thought, he found himself proceeding anyways.

_So stupid..._

He took the pen and began to draw.

(3)

Cody was not a man of risks. He had never been a man, or boy, of risks. There was not a single thing he could think of that he had ever done that had carried some probability of risk.

Zack had always stated that he was the ultimate party pooper. He was. He knew the probability of things that no one but a true obsessive compulsive would now.

This here was the riskiest thing he had ever done in his life.

Even if he _had _been a risk taker, he knew that this would still come out on top as the stupidest and riskiest thing he had ever done in his life.

As he opened the door to Jonathan Crowshaw's room and stepped outside, he was unable to fathom just what had gotten into him.

He knew he would probably regret this for all eternity. Literally.

But he carried on with his plan nevertheless. He didn't see anything. He thought maybe it was wandering the hotel somewhere else, not realizing that his human pray was actually already being stupid enough to make a break for it.

But he realized that was not the case. Zack and Maddie had hoped for that and they hadn't made it out alive. Cody knew it was watching him. It would not reveal itself to him immediately, but Cody knew it was there. It was not going to let his prey escape, and it had all the time in the world.

Cody decided to skip the whole charade and just call it out.

"HEY! ASSWIPE! YOU WANT TO TAKE ME? GO AHEAD AND COME AND GET ME!"

Nothing. Cody started wandering down the hall.

"HEY! DON'T YOU HEAR ME? I CONCEDE DEFEAT! HURRY UP ANDCOME TAKE MY SOUL ALREADY!"

But it didn't respond.

Cody was getting irritated. He could feel the adrenaline pumping harder, his breath becoming more hitched with each passing second.

That's probably what it wanted. To allow the panic and fear to build up just enough, to savor it, to enjoy the show.

"I'm leaving now!" Cody said.

"I'm making my way out of the hotel! I'll come back in several months and put an end to you! If you want to get me, now's your chance!"

Cody made it all the way to the stairwell. He looked back. Nothing in the hallway came from behind him to get him. He opened the door to the stairwell. Nothing there.

He proceeded down at a moderate, relaxed pace until he arrived back at the lobby. There was nothing waiting to jump him there, either.

"Okay!" Cody called out as he began waking towards the front door.

"I'm on my way out! Hasta la vista! I'll be seeing you so..."

He knew it was behind him right before it rushed him and he felt the darkness wash over him.

He felt the surge of evil. Immense evil. He was suddenly completely paralyzed. Couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. The hotel had faded out of existence instantaneously as if someone had turned out a light. All around him there was only darkness. And whispers. Thousands of them. He looked up. He could see eyes right above him. Two red, demonic slits in the midst of the darkness. Gazing at him. Ready to devour his soul. He was about to become one with it. Just another lost soul, but the one that would herald in the end of the age.

He felt the darkness wash over him. Felt it slither all over his body. Cody realized this was probably the end. He closed his eyes and waited for it to all be over, before entering into his final eternal torment.

But it never came. The Dark Fall shrieked as Cody's entire body suddenly lit up. Radiant light illuminated from Cody and blasted through the darkness. He opened his eyes. He could see the eyes of the Dark Fall. He could see the shock and rage in them. Cody smirked.

"You were right. Deception is a powerful force. But you're not the only one who can play that game..."

Though the whole area was still surrounded by blackness (Cody presumed his body had crossed entirely into the dark realm), Cody could suddenly move and act as the light continued to radiate from his body. The eyes remained stationary. For now, the Dark Fall was unable to do anything. But Cody would have to act quick. Cody felt like he was floating. There was no ground or anything. It felt like an out of body experience. But Cody's physical body was still there.

Cody grabbed his shirt and ripped it open, the buttons popping off as he did so. The light from his body grew stronger.

Cody had drawn crosses all over his body. The Dark Fall had tried to absorb him, not realizing what it was subjecting itself too. The Dark Fall shrieked in pain and rage as it realized it had been had for once. But Cody wasn't letting it go anywhere. Cody grinned as he produced the pen he had used, uncapped it, and began visualizing a cross in his head. With heavy concentration, the tip of the pen started to glow.

Cody reached up to where the eyes were right above him.

"Got ya."

Cody drew a cross right in between the eyes on the entity itself. It shrieked, a bright white light exploded, and everything faded away.


	26. Interlude C: The Last Thing Cody Forgot

_**Interlude C - The Last Thing Cody Forgot**_

_The Dark Man had come for his soul. 17 year old Cody jolted wide awake in his bed. The room was dark. The only light in the room came from the single window in his bedroom from the full moon outside. _

_Because Zack and Cody had their own separate rooms, there was nobody to call for help. _

_Cody knew that the Dark Man had come to kill him._

_Why the Dark Man had come, or how his presence could manifest so powerfully in that moment, Cody did not know. Even when he would come to remember this memory eight years later, slumped down in a hotel room in the biggest fight not just for his life, but the whole world as well, he would still not be able to figure out how or why._

_That did not matter now. The Dark Man could, he did, and he had come to kill Cody._

_Cody wasn't sure why he had suddenly jolted awake and up into a sitting position on his bed until he looked towards his bedroom door and saw the Dark Man standing there. In an instant, Cody knew. The next thing, the Dark Man was on top of him._

_He hadn't even seen the Dark Man move. But suddenly he was on his back and couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. He was completely paralyzed._

_He saw the demonic eyes above him. He knew what the Dark Man wanted. He also knew that it was probably all over now._

_He wanted to scream out for help, but his throat wouldn't make a sound._

_It seemed like everything was flashing. Flashing all around. Where was the flashing coming from? Was he imagining it? Was he falling unconscious? Were the angels there? Wouldn't they save him?_

_He wondered how his mom and brother would react when they found him dead in his bed the next day. _

_He started to cry. He didn't want to go like this. He wanted to wake up the next morning, to a beautiful sunrise, have a pleasant breakfast with his family, then spend the day working on his studies..._

_No. It was so unfair. Why did it all have to end now, like this?_

_Cody couldn't call out for his brother. For his mom. For the angels. He didn't have a cross. He had nothing to make a cross with. He couldn't move._

_He didn't think this would work, but he did what he figured was the next best futile thing. He visualized a cross in his head._

_He imagined the shape, tracing it perfectly in his mind. He pictured it illuminating, glowing._

_In his head he said the words; 'Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of the hole that is under this house, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.'_

_The cross seemed to glow stronger in his mind. A demonic shriek came from the entity above him. In that instant, it was gone. It was if it had never been there._

_Cody instantly jumped up off the bed, covered in sweat, breathing heavily._

_It was gone, but he still felt an evil presence in the room. It was very strong. The Dark Man had left, or had he? Was it still here and watching him, just that he couldn't see it?_

_He let out a gasp from his throat. At first, he couldn't make any audible sounds come out of it. He had to gasp for a while to finally find his voice. Eventually, he made a small sound come out._

_He hoped that he hadn't been so traumatized he had lost his ability to speak normally altogether._

_He thought of calling out for his mom and brother. But who would believe him?_

_He remembered how his brother had told him about the Dark Man several years ago. Zack would believe him. Wouldn't he?_

_Zack... oh no!_

_What if the Dark Man had already gotten Zack? Killed him in his sleep?_

_With panic rising in his chest, he left his room and quietly opened the door to Zack's next to his. _

_He could see his brother in his bed. He didn't seem to be moving._

_Oh, no._

_No no no._

_But as he got closer, he could see Zack's chest rising and falling gently, sleeping peacefully. Unaware._

_Cody breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't feel the dark presence in this room._

_He wanted to wake Zack, but thought better of it. He was still shaking. He snuck back out and carefully closed the door._

_Because he was paranoid, he next headed to check on his mother. She was fine. When he returned to his room, the dark presence didn't seem to be there anymore. He looked out his window. He didn't see any angels._

_He went to bed and tried to go back to sleep. He was still scared. What if the Dark Man came back? What if it tried to go after Zack or his mother next while he was sound asleep? Would either of them be able to come up with the quick solution to defend themselves like he had? He didn't think it was likely._

_It took him several hours to finally fall asleep. The next morning, he didn't remember a thing. But for some strange reason, whenever he tried to go to sleep for months onward, a strange paralyzing fear would come over him, and he would glance nervously around the room in case anything should chance to suddenly appear and jump him._

_He couldn't explain why he felt this way, nor the nightmares he frequently had of something demonic coming into his room and trying to take his soul while he lay there._

_But they were just dreams, and eventually the feeling started to get less and less, and eventually he forgot these too altogether._


	27. The Otherworld

**Chapter 22**

**The Otherworld**

(1)

He felt like he was falling, similar to when he had used the lyric divining ritual in Mr. Tipton's office. He wasn't sure for how long he had been falling. Everything was a blur.

But suddenly, he realized there were people all around him. Grabbing at him. He tried to look around, confused. He realized that he had stopped falling.

Everything seemed to be spinning.

Slowly, very slowly, everything started to come into focus and become more clear.

He was in the hotel lobby. There were many people all around him. He couldn't tell how many. 50? 100?

The first face he clearly recognized was his brother, Zack, who was saying something to him, but the words were out of focus, kinda like hearing something through water. Like the hotel, it was taking awhile for sound to come into focus too.

"...id it, Cody!" Zack was saying, and pulled him into a hug.

Everyone was crowding around him, giving him pats on the back, uttering various forms of "Congratulations!"

As Cody looked from Zack through the rest of the crowd, his eyes caught Timothy Pike's, then George Tipton, Elizabeth, and finally London.

He realized that he was surrounded by all the people who had been taken by the Dark Fall.

As everything came into focus, and the blur started to clear away, Cody realized it didn't look the same. It seemed as if everything seemed _more _clear and real than he had ever seen in his life.

It was as if the entire world he had been seeing throughout his life had been nothing more than a dream. An illusion. But this, this was more real than anything he had ever experienced in his life. The people around him were more real, too.

As he looked around, he saw one other thing about the hotel that was not normal.

Bright, glowing crosses lit up the walls, the ceiling, and, as he glanced down, the floor.

Cody wondered what this all meant. Had he won? Was he now dead? Alive?

He also realized he was shirtless.

There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but the crowd around him was still buzzing. The room was packed out. Zack had his arm around him, and he saw George Tipton making his way through the crowd to shake his hand.

As he did so, the crowd shushed for a bit as Mr. Tipton spoke. His voice was more warm and gentle than it had been in the flashback vision he'd had in Mr. Tipton's office.

"After many, many decades of the horror that we have been going through, I have watched hopelessly from the beginning as many have come and fallen under the grasp of the demon! But never before have I witnessed before such an impressive display of intelligence and valor at outsmarting it! I wish I had thought of such a thing myself!"

The crowd cheered at this. But as the noise began to dissipate again, Cody asked his first question. His head still felt a bit fuzzy.

"Does this mean I won? That I didn't need the lyrics after all? Is the Dark Fall gone? Are we all okay? Am I dead?"

Mr. Tipton's smile faded somewhat.

"No. Not quite. It is not gone yet. And it is not gone for long, I'm afraid."

Cody's heart plummeted. He hadn't won? Then, why was everyone cheering him on?

"As for whether or not you are dead, you aren't. You've simply been pulled into the Otherworld. Unlike us, though, you came through managing to resist being absorbed body and soul by the Dark Fall."

"But if I didn't win, why is everyone cheering?"

"Because you found all the lyrics!" Mr. Tipton said, beaming. "You can now go down to the temple and finally end this!"

Cody's heart leapt again.

"You mean I can still win? For good?"

"For good!" George Tipton nodded.

His smile faded again.

"But, it will be dangerous."

Cody's heart plummeted yet again. Hadn't he gone through enough already? How much more did he have to go through? He just wanted it to all be over and done with already.

He sighed. "What am I going to have to do?"

"Your actions managed to paralyze it for a short time. Because it is an evil spirit, it is immortal and can't be killed. Because the hole is still open and spewing that dreadful dark mist, it will eventually regain its power. Then it will take over this realm again."

"But I can stop it before that happens?"

"Yes. But right now you are stuck in the spirit realm with us. You are not dead, so you can still cross over and go back. However, the only way to go back is to renounce the temporary seal you've placed on the demon. As soon as you've done that, the demon will immediately begin to regain its power much faster. You will still have some time before it becomes fully functional again. You will have a very short window of time to make it to the temple and complete the incantation."

"But I could still fail, and this all would still be in vain."

"Yes." George said.

"But it's extremely unlikely."

The thought made Cody nervous. The probability of success was good, but he could still fail. He was just tired of this whole thing and wanted to go home.

"So, this is the spirit realm?" Cody asked, inquisitively.

"Yes." George said.

"This is the true realm, the true face of the universe which runs along side the fake physical world we occupy."

"Fake?"

"Yes. Do you not notice how much more real everything looks here? That's because it is. When we occupy the physical world, we are merely living inside a crafted illusion. Our bodies are merely the machines we use to get around through it."

"For what purpose does this all serve?" Cody asked.

"Ah. That is perhaps, not something for us humans to know at this time. I've been here for decades and I still don't know."

That answer didn't satisfy Cody. But there wasn't really time to explore and press the issue.

"How much time do we have here before the seal starts to wear off?"

"Not very long. But enough to for you to catch up with the people I know you are itching to talk to."

That lightened Cody's heart a little bit. At least he would have a bit of rest before the final storm.

"Exactly how do I renounce the seal and exit from here into the rea... I mean, the physical realm?"

"It can only be done by will. The person who created the seal must will it to be renounced. Then a portal will appear with which you can cross over."

"And you know this how?"

"It's hard to explain. You do not know because you are not dead. But spirits know. When you are freed from the confines of your mortal body, all inhibitors are cast off. You just know things. Understand things. Everything has greater clarity. Even more so than the way everything looks to you now. You can even see atoms! You do not need to be told the laws by how the spirit realm works! You just automatically know!"

"But yet you do not know the secret to the universe?"

"It is withheld. The things that are known, and the things that are unknown, just like in the physical universe, all come from a much higher power."

Cody was still not fully satisfied, but he knew he would probably get no more. His curious scientific mind was jumping in, with thousands of questions he wanted ask. What a once in a lifetime learning opportunity! But yet, he had to let it pass. There were many more important things at hand.

(2)

Cody and Zack took a leisurely stroll through the ground floor of the hotel.

Mr. Tipton had asked everyone to leave "their hero" alone so he could spend what little time he had here to talk to the ones he cared about.

Cody was relieved. The way everyone had been standing around staring at him had been kind of uncomfortable, and he certainly didn't want to have this conversation with Zack in full public view.

But the spirits had dispersed and, it sounded like, were now resuming their party of the night they disappeared.

After having been trapped by the Dark Fall for so long, it was apparently a cause for celebration.

"So, what was it like?"

Cody asked.

"You would actually be surprised at the kind of things you are capable of getting used to." Zack said. "Although I wouldn't exactly say the experience was overall pleasant."

"So... which one was Maddie?"

"Ah. You know about her? I take it you read my diary?"

"Yeah."

"Did you see the cute blonde standing over there by the candy counter?"

Cody had to think. There had been so many people crammed into that lobby and not everyone had been able to fit in. That lobby was not designed to hold several hundred people. But Cody vaguely remembered seeing a blond standing around the area Zack mentioned.

"I think so." he said.

"I'd introduce you, but I don't think we'll have time. It's a shame, really. I think my biggest regret out of all this is we'll never have a chance to be married, have kids, start a family..."

"Stop it." Cody said.

Zack looked at him surprised.

"You're not dead! I'm going to put a stop to this, and you're gonna be alright! Everything's going to go back to the way it was before!"

Zack smiled weakly.

"No, it won't, Cody. I'm dead. We all are. Except for you. Our times are up. When you succeed, we'll be moving on to the afterlife."

"How do you know that?" Cody said, trying to keep his emotions in check. He didn't want to break down and start crying in front of his brother. But he knew that was probably inevitable.

"Just because I was able to outsmart it and..."

"It's like George explained. We just know. There's nothing you can do to change it."

Cody wasn't able to stop the tear from running down his face.

"So, this is the last time we'll ever be able to speak again?"

Zack nodded sadly.

"Zack? Did you mean all those things you said in your diary? About us?"

"Concerning specifically?"

Cody wiped his face with his hand.

"About... not wanting to contact me because you were afraid I was mad at you?"

"Yeah." Zack said, looking down at the ground.

"Honestly, I often wished we could have been a lot closer. But you... you always acted so frustrated and content to stay in your own little world. It made me kinda mad, because you were always throwing yourself into your studies and I felt like our friendship... was unimportant to you."

"I never knew you felt that way." Cody said ashamed.

"I guess I WAS caught up in my own little world. I just... placed too much value onto things that were really not important."

"I coulda tried harder too, I guess." Zack said.

"I got so mad at you I ended up just deciding to leave you alone altogether and just let you have what you wanted."

"I didn't really know what I wanted. But I guess it's too late to wish to fix things now, isn't it?"

"If only we could go back to the past." Zack said. "Have another chance. Live a life where none of this ever happened. Get things right the second time."

"If only reality worked like that." Cody said.

But it didn't. He knew that. It was all over now. This was the last conversation he and Zack would ever have.

He would probably win in the end, but the regrets of the past could never be altered. He supposed it was a blessing they had this brief time to mend things, but he wished they could still have a life together in the future. As brothers. Another chance to become as close as they should have been before.

But time was the cruelest taskmaster in the world. He would never have such an opportunity. This was truly the end. He felt sick to his stomach.

"Cody, I want you to know something, before the end. I know that you've resented me for my success and everything, but I just want you to know that I've always been proud of you, and even though I always put you down for being such a nerd when we were kids, I've always admired you. I kinda always secretly hoped you would go on to be a bigger success than me someday. It broke my heart when things didn't go well for you. I..."

"Stop." Cody said. "I know. I..."

He couldn't control the tears running down his face anymore.

He pulled Zack into a hug. He didn't care if he was making a sentimental fool of himself.

Time was not a thing of which there was much left, and he found himself realizing he should have been this sentimental a long time ago when he had time and the chance.

(3)

"So, YOU were the one trying to steal my girl away?" Todd asked in an angry tone as he shook Cody's hand, but the huge smile on his face gave his humor away.

"That's not what it was about... I just..." Cody said, a little flustered.

"Don't worry about it." Todd said, still smiling. "Truthfully, If London were to have survived, I couldn't think of any better person I would have wanted her to end up with."

Cody blushed, looking down. It was made all the more embarrassing that London was standing right there.

Then, as Cody thought about his words, he felt a greater pang of guilt.

_If she had survived._

Cody turned to look at her.

"London, I'm so sorry."

"Really, Cody, it's alright!"

"No it's not! I should have never let us get separated! I should have stuck by your side, I..."

"Cody, our time was up anyways. If we had stayed together, it would have gotten us both at once. Because we didn't, you now have a chance."

"But that still doesn't excuse what I..."

"It was the only thing we could have done, Cody."

She smiled at him.

There was nothing more that he could say. All he could do was let out another sincere, "I'm sorry, London."

She pulled him into a hug.

"It's alright." She said, pulling him away.

"Todd and I will be together for all eternity. You get to go on and live your life. After you defeat it, of course."

Cody gave a sad smile.

These things were true, but this was not what he wanted. He didn't want to go back and have to live out the rest of his life all alone. This wasn't right. This wasn't the way things should be.

He talked with Todd and London for a little longer, then there was one last person he needed to speak too.

(4)

"I'm very happy someone was able to get as far as you did. After decades, I was beginning to worry I had made it _too_ hard."

"You _did _make it too hard." Cody said.

"Forgive me. I only did it out of fear. I was scared to death it would get me before I had the chance to get all of the lyrics, and I was horrified when I realized it had the power to destroy the lyrics and anything associated with them that I just didn't want to take any chances. And it's not like I could have just told anyone else the truth. I was pretty certain they wouldn't believe me."

"Well, even if I fail, someone else now has the research, and I think if worst comes to worst, he will believe me enough to get the information out there so that someone else can still stop it. I think there is still a chance even if I don't make it."

"But as for the difficulty that I put you through, I feel regretful about that. You must hate my guts."

"No... no. Not at all."

"Ah. But if I hadn't of been so careful, you might have saved my granddaughter."

"And if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have lost my brother." Cody spat.

Mr. Tipton bowed his head.

"I'm very sorry about that. I've made so many mistakes in my life. I would give anything to go back and be able to amend my horrible sins. Somehow, I won't be surprised if I wind up in the worst place of all for eternity after this thing is finally sealed."

"I've made many mistakes in my past, too." Cody said, a little more sympathetically. "Maybe nothing close to yours, but I wasn't able to see just what a blessed life I really lived. I took everything for granted, and now it's too late."

He struggled to keep from tearing up again.

"That is life, I guess." George Tipton said. "We are but human. We are all fallible. We can only try and do the best we can, and hope that there will be enough grace to save us from ourselves in the end."

"So..." Cody said. "You really don't know where you are going? When this is all over?"

"That is one of the things that is kept from me, from all of us. But yet all of us also know that wherever we end up, it's what we deserve."

"I hope things turn out okay for you."

"Whether they do or don't, I'm fine with it."

"Doesn't a part of you want to try and stop me? From sealing it up?"

"Perhaps a little. But we've been going through pure hell anyways. And again, I know I deserve what I get. The only atonement I can possibly make for my sins is that this thing is stopped. No one else deserves to suffer. And you - you deserve to go on and live a full life."

"I don't know if I will be able to live a full life. I mean, my brother will be gone. I don't know how I will be able to break the news to our mother."

"Time does not heal all wounds." Mr. Tipton said.

"But as life goes on, you will be able to cope. You will be able to be happy again. You will never forget the ones you've lost. But you won't cry over them as much. You will always remember the good times you had."

"I wish me and Zack could of had more good times. That's my only regret. I hope you get to see Arthur again."

Mr. Tipton smiled.

"I hope I shall too. I can't think of any greater blessing than to cross over to the other side and have him there waiting for me."

"And I guess..." Cody said. "When I cross over someday, Zack will be there waiting for me."

"Yes. That will be a day to look forward to. Just don't make it come before its time."

"No. I promise I won't do that."

Cody could feel the pain inside of him again. He knew this was really going to hit him when it was all over.

He really wished he had not wasted so much time resenting his brother. He wished he could have just one more chance. God, what he wouldn't give to take back all the hateful things he had thought towards Zack. But it was almost all over now. There was no turning back.

(5)

Cody stood in the middle of the hotel lobby. Everyone was crowding around him again, watching. Mr. Tipton was standing across from him. Zack was standing next to him, smiling weakly.

The crowd had gathered in a circle around Cody, giving him just enough space for what he needed to do.

"You must will in your mind to renounce the seal." Mr. Tipton said. "At that moment, you will have very little time to return and make it down to the temple. Your previous trick will not work again. The Dark Fall will be trying to kill you. You will have to move very fast."

Cody nodded. His eyes made contact with Zack's. Pain welled up inside him again. He knew this was the last time he would ever see his brother.

But he knew he could not think about that anymore for right now. He had a mission to accomplish.

"Close your eyes and picture the seal in your mind. Imagine it breaking. Will it to disappear."

Cody closed his eyes. He wasn't sure what the "seal" was supposed to be, but he formed the picture of a cross in his head.

Exerting all his mental energy, he imagined the cross shattering into a million pieces. He kept this in his mind, repeating it over and over again, when he could suddenly _feel _the change.

He opened his eyes and was shocked. The whole room was beginning to darken. The spirits were looking around nervously. Zack smiled supportively at him one more time. Cody looked down at his feet and saw a giant hole had appeared in front of him between himself and Mr. Tipton.

"There's no time! Go!" Mr. Tipton said.

Cody knew if he thought about it anymore, he would lose his nerve. He leapt forward and jumped straight into the hole. Down, down he started to fall. The hotel above him had faded away completely. The people up there were long gone. All Cody could think to himself as he fell was -

_Zack._


	28. The End

**Chapter 23**

**The End**

_Author's Note: THIS IS NOT THE FINAL CHAPTER! Epilogue coming, then deleted scenes!_

(1)

It was kind of like coming up back from being underwater into the fresh air above, although here it was the reverse.

As he fell through the darkness, he emerged from the ceiling of the real hotel lobby and touched down on the floor.

It wasn't like before, where everything had been a blur and needed time to focus. As soon as he touched the floor, immediately everything came back into focus.

He had his thoughts and wits about him and was ready to go into action. He looked down at the floor and saw his shirt and carrying case.

Quickly, he leaned down and retrieved his notepad from it.

He opened it up. Everything was still intact. He had the lyrical sequence. The Dark Fall had been so consumed with him it hadn't bothered destroying his research.

Cody didn't waste any more time. He looked around. Already he could feel the colors in the lobby beginning to take on a darker tone. That scared him. Or maybe he was imagining it?

He left behind his shirt and his case and ran.

(2)

He emerged into the basement room, nearly tripping over himself. He had been running so fast that he had almost gone tumbling right down the stairs.

_Yeah. Wouldn't that have been just great, Cody? You get this far and are defeated by your own klutziness._

He ran up to the temple entrance so hard he nearly slammed into it.

When he reached the section of the wall, he nearly beat himself over the head. He had forgotten something.

He had no clue how to open the entrance.

_Stupid. Stupid._

He should have checked this out back when he was here with London. Or he should have at least asked Mr. Tipton before he leapt through the hole.

But as he pushed on the section, he gave a sigh of relief as he felt it begin to give way.

It was a sliding wall. You had to push rather hard to get it to move, (probably part of its camouflage) but move it did, and Cody could see down a long, dark hallway to which he could see nothing else ahead.

He took off running. The hallway was fairly long. He wondered how far under the hotel this ran? He swore he was heading straight to the exact opposite end. The further he ran, the stronger the stench of death and sulfur became.

He could also swear he was beginning to hear some sort of sound. It sounded terrible, but he couldn't quite make out what it was just yet.

It was also getting hot. Sweat was starting to bead down his body. He noted how cold it had felt when the Dark Fall around. Here, it felt like he was running straight to the entrance of hell. The irony was that was exactly what he was doing.

The long hallway exited into a very large stone chamber. Reading about this place didn't do it justice.

To Cody, it was far more horrifying than even Mr. Tipton's secret sacrificial room had been.

The sound had become more clear as Cody had gotten closer to the chamber, and he started having a horrifying suspicion as to what it was, and now that he was here, he knew for a fact that's EXACTLY what it was.

The hole was gigantic. Cody would have estimated it was maybe 20 feet long all around, in a perfect circle.

A dense, black smoke spewed from the hole. It was so thick it permeated the room, making everything hard to see.

But yet, see he could. He realized he suddenly didn't need the flashlight. The room seemed to be adequately lit up, but from where, Cody couldn't tell. He could see no source of light whatsoever. But there was a strange red light that illuminated the room. Did it come from the hole? As Cody took a few steps closer, he couldn't see any light coming up from the hole, but as he gazed down, he could see a faint red light below, where the smoke seemed to be seeping up.

Looking into the hole, Cody already had a terrible fear of heights, but this...

Cody knew that if he fell in right now, he might very well tumble down straight into hell. He thought about how that had been the final resting place of the corpse of Arthur and shuddered.

Out of the hole came horrible noises. Demonic noises.

This was probably the most terrifying experience of his life.

Even being attacked by the Dark Man as a teenager paled in comparison to this.

Looking down into the hole scared him. He immediately became paranoid that something might come behind him and try to push him down.

_Yeah. That would be the way to end it all._

Cody whirled around. Nothing there.

Cody took a closer look around at the walls. The walls almost terrified him more than anything else.

There were statues of demons lining the wall all the way around, each one different, but all in grotesque, horrifying shapes.

Each demon had a bowl in its hands/legs/talons/ect. in which a type of green misty slime oozed out of the demons' mouths, overflowed from the bowl, and down to the ground below where it seemed to evaporate.

Just what on Earth was it and what was it for?

Maybe he didn't want to know. It wasn't what was important right now, anyways.

Cody took a few steps back from the hole, just enough to where he wouldn't have to be so paranoid, opened his notebook, and was ready to recite the incantation:

Then he heard the scream from behind him, all the way back at what he presumed was probably the entrance of the tunnel. The scream of his name.

It startled him so much he almost dropped his book. He felt the most powerful burst of adrenaline he had ever felt in his life. His heart was beating ninety-to-nothing. His breath began to hitch in his throat, and he realized he truly never felt more scared in his life as he did now.

It was the Dark Fall.

The Dark Fall had come for him. It had already regained its power and was at the entrance to the tunnel. Now it would be running down the tunnel and...

Cody didn't waste another second. As soon as he heard the yell, he began quickly reading the lyrics, his voice quivering the whole time.

_"Lussa! Kars! Oliviak! Frenic! Morcana! Tyma!"_

Another yell of his name. This one more of a screech.

_Oh, crap. _Cody's brain processed. It was already halfway down the tunnel!

His voice became more panicked.

_"Malus! Larsus! Olkas! Mortym!"_

Another demonic screech from right behind him.

_Oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God_

Cody held his ground and kept on speaking.

The world started to blur all around him...

_"Ixiam! Raka!"_

There was a loud boom, and a loud shriek literally right behind his ear that startled him to the core. A magnificent light shot out of the ceiling where a cross had suddenly appeared and bathed itself into the hole in front of him.

A deafening explosion came from the hole. All noise from the hole ceased.

The room was no longer bathed in the demonic red light, but was illuminated perfectly and crystal clear.

The unnatural smoke was no longer spewing from the hole. The light continued to bathe itself directly in it.

Cody turned behind him. The Dark Fall was on the floor, literally two feet behind him, as it was being attacked by light that appeared out of nowhere around him and was stabbing it through its body, like spears.

The Dark Fall screeched as it writhed and contorted on the ground in pain.

It was no longer in the form of his brother or the Dark Man.

Instead, it was simply an unintelligible dark mass. It was as if it was trying to maintain its false humanistic shape, and he could see hands reaching out as it continued to screech, but they, as the rest of its body, contorted, and it couldn't seem to hold its mass.

It was losing the ability to take the form of its perverted mockery of humanity. Now it looked just as it was: a hideous deformed mass of evil, a creature that had had all of its beauty stripped away, consigned to spend its life as a horror, a deformity, something that not even God himself could look at and call 'good', although it struck Cody how biblically speaking demons had once been beautiful angels created by God who had fallen from grace.

The entity, though just seconds ago having been something to be feared, who had held so much power and dominion over this cursed area on the face of the Earth... didn't look so big now. In fact, it looked rather pathetic. Looking at it now, Cody couldn't even fathom how something like this had once been something to be feared, a force to have been reckoned with.

This was the pathetic creature he had been risking life and limb to try to outsmart?

The shrieks coming from it had a different affect, too. Just seconds ago, they had struck fear into Cody's heart. But now, he found them soothing. The agonized sound of its screams sent an almost sadistic surge of pleasure throughout Cody.

Yes, he was enjoying the Dark Fall's pain a little too much.

He briefly wondered if it was a sin itself to take so much pleasure in something else's misery. But he convinced himself the same laws of decency and morality didn't apply when dealing with demons.

The Dark Fall leapt up and began to move. It ran past Cody, headed straight for the hole, and dived in, shrieking all the way.

Another huge burst of light came from the hole, and Cody heard an even louder shriek, one that he could have sworn nearly shook the whole room.

Shrieks began echoing around the whole room. They were coming from the demon statues.

As Cody looked, the green slime was no longer coming out of their mouths. Now, they were starting to completely crumble away. They fell into pieces on the floor and were no more.

Shortly after, the giant cross on the ceiling stopped sending light into the hole, and a small hole opened up in the ceiling in its place.

As Cody stepped forward to get a closer look, he saw that inside the hole appeared to be a realm the likes of which no one on Earth had ever seen. It was like a tunnel, going up somewhere, and there were lights and colors lining up the tunnel, bright and vivid, all twisting and contorting into all kinds of different shapes. It was beyond describing. Cody thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life.

It had the same look the Otherworld did. It looked far more real than anything else in the chamber did. Compared to it, it was the real world, and the temple and everything else in the Earth itself was merely a crafted illusion.

Small lights began floating up out of the hole, one by one. Slowly they sailed up and began ascending one at a time into the tunnel. Cody wasn't sure what he was looking at at first until one of the lights stopped halfway and floated stationary.

"Cody..." it said.

Cody's stomach lurched when it spoke to him. All of a sudden he realized what he was looking at and was filled with feelings of awe and horror at the same time.

Souls. These were all souls. Ascending to heaven. People who had been killed by the Dark Fall. Leaving their earthly home for their eternal home forever and ever.

"Zack." Cody choked out, and a tear began to run down the side of his face.

"Thank you Cody. I love you. I'm going to miss you. I'm really sorry."

"ZACK! DON'T GO!" Cody suddenly found himself screaming at the top of his lungs, the tears streaming down his face in a torrent.

"You're going to live a great life, Cody. Don't come up here before your time. I'm going to always be watching you. I know you're going to do great things. Say hi to mom for me, and tell her I'm sorry, too. Bye."

Zack's soul started to float up, his soul moving on, into another universe, away from Cody, forever.

"ZACK! ZACK!" Cody screamed, reaching out in the direction Zack's soul was heading, though he new this action was futile, he did it anyways.

He wished, oh he wished, that there was some way to grab Zack's soul, trap it, keep it, never let him leave his side again.

Oh, what a fool he'd been. What a damned fool. He never appreciated what he had when he had the chance.

He had been blessed. So blessed. But he never saw it. His brother had always been there for him. He had never been there for his brother. He had taken everything for granted. Become selfish. Become hard. Nothing mattered anymore. Nothing.

Zack's soul floated into the hole, and Cody could see it no more. A few more souls were still streaming into the hole. Cody had lost his voice and couldn't speak anymore. He stood there, almost paralyzed.

One more soul stopped before him.

"I'm very sorry for what I did Cody. No amount of apology can make up for what I did to you and everybody. I do not deserve the grace I've been given now. Not at bit. I just hope that I can ask for your forgiveness, and I wish you a good, long, happy life."

Cody spoke, still crying.

"I wouldn't have wished for the alternative for you, anyways. You deserve to be reunited with Arthur and be happy. No one who comes to their senses and tries to turn the other way deserves to be punished for it."

"You are very kind with your words, but we both know I disagree. I'm so sorry, Cody."

Cody had nothing else to say to George's spirit. It floated up and into the hole and into eternity forever.

Cody stood there with his head hung down.

He barely registered the third soul that stopped and hung around.

"Thank you, Cody. What you've done for us all today will never be forgotten. Don't stay sad for long. I didn't get to know your brother that well, but I know he really cares for you and wouldn't want you to live in pain."

Cody looked up and smiled weakly at the soul of Timothy Pike before it too ascended and was gone. Two more souls stopped to linger around.

"I feel so sorry for how you must feel." London said. "But you're going to meet someone some day and make a fine husband. Don't rob someone out there of yourself. Zack wouldn't want that. I wouldn't want that."

"I didn't really get to know you," Todd said. "But thanks for everything! There are several hundred of us who really appreciate you right now. Cheers, man!"

And with that, the souls ascended.

They must have been the last two souls to leave, because after they passed through, the hole suddenly closed and was no more.

And as for the giant hole in the floor, the area started lighting up with a bright light. A giant red pentagram appeared inside the light, and then a green double circle appeared with a cross in the middle. In between the two holes all around, Cody recognized each of the sealing lyrics.

The green of the light seemed to be overpowering the red of the pentagram, and the pentagram turned black and seemed to be shriveling away before it disappeared and was suddenly no more.

There was a flash from the area where the hole was, then a boom, which almost knocked Cody back off his feet, and then the light seemed to suddenly fold into itself and vanish.

Cody looked at the area where the hole had been. Now it was only a normal stone floor.

Where the demon statues had once been, there was no longer any sign of their presence. Even the stones they had crumbled into were not there. As far as anyone was concerned, they had never been there at all.

This was just a normal stone chamber.

Cody noted that the room seemed brightly lit up even though there was no source of light, and that still confused him, but he didn't have the will to think on it in any greater detail any longer.

Almost zombie like, he slowly shambled his way to the center of the chamber, where the very center of the stone floor had once been, and collapsed on his side.

He lied there, feeling disheveled, with a dazed look in his eyes.

All he could think about was Zack floating into the hole. For all eternity. He could bring himself to focus on nothing else.

(3)

The angels began to appear, one after another.

Cody could see them moving about from his position, but didn't bother himself to look up or move in the slightest.

He just didn't care anymore.

He felt like he could lie here for the rest of eternity and not care.

"Cody, get up." One of the angels was standing right in front of him, looking down at him. Cody felt no inclination to do any such thing.

But slowly, he willed himself to get to his feet and looked the angel in its face.

"It is time for you to go." the angel said.

"We are taking over this place. We have been given authority to seal away the hole for good. It is time for you to head back."

"So, this is why you saved me in the first place?" Cody asked, a tone of bitterness in his voice.

The angel didn't nod, shake its head, or give any indication of emotion whatsoever.

"Did you know when you saved me that my brother was going to die?" he said angrily.

"The events of the future are not generally made known to us. We are only meant to carry out our missions as given to us. But yes, we had an inkling this was how things might turn out."

"So, the only point of saving me was so that someday I might come here and seal away the Dark Fall?"

"It was a very calculated risk. You could have just as easily brought about the end of the world as you could have saved it. But we were given orders."

"So, this is all my life was meant to be for? Sealing away this thing? Nothing else?"

"You said you wished to make your mark on the world. Now you have."

"This wasn't quite what I had in mind!"

"No. Humans never really know what they want. And when they ask for something, they tend to never realize just what they are asking for. And they wonder why a lot of prayers go 'unanswered'."

"And you guys couldn't have come in and stopped this thing yourself? You actually needed an errand boy to do your dirty work?"

"We are not allowed to interfere with the free will of humans, no matter how diabolical one's actions may hurt many others. For if we were to interfere every time one of you does something incredibly wicked or stupid, there would be no free will. We could not enter these unhallowed grounds while they were placed under the curse. A human created this, only a human could undo it."

"Look, I mean no disrespect or anything, but if I ever ask you to save my life again, just kill me!"

"You've just saved hundreds of lives, and this means nothing to you?"

"Well, no, that's not it, but...!"

"Are you still so selfish, Cody Martin, that you can still think of no one but yourself?"

"I'm not selfish, I..."

"Go home, Cody Martin. As one final parting gesture, I will let you in on a little secret about your future: you will live a very long and prosperous life. You will become more successful than you could have ever dreamed. Money and worldwide renown and respect shall be yours. You will have everything you've ever wanted and then more. You will have so much that you will have no idea what to do with most of it. The end of the story is this: You win. You get everything you've ever dreamed of."

Cody bowed his head and looked at the ground.

_I become successful? Rich? Famous? Respected?_

The thought sent a wave of pure revulsion through Cody. He felt like he could throw up.

His hand tightened into a fist beside him, and he started to weep. Heavy sobs, as tears began to run down his face.

"That's not what I want." Cody said softly.

"But that's what you've always dreamed of, and we have been granted permission to...

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I WANT!" Cody yelled.

The angel stopped talking. It still continued to look at Cody, still showing no display of emotion. The other angels stood around staring at him.

Cody felt like he was some kind of curious lab experiment in a glass container the way they were all staring at him. But he didn't care.

"I don't CARE if I get rich, or famous, or have a fancy house, a nice car, respect, prestige, ANY of that! I want... I want... for Zack to come back! And London! And Todd! And Maddie, Trevor, and everyone else who got screwed over by this thing! The only thing I want is for them to be able to live the full lives they deserved, and... and... I just want my brother back! I don't care about anything else!"

The angels stood staring at him silently.

"If you must take someone's soul to the afterlife, take me! Bring everyone else back, but take me! I'm the only one who doesn't deserve to live! I didn't care about what I had when I had the chance! Life isn't worth living with just... worthless things!"

The angel spoke.

"Someday other people will come into your life that will replace the ones you lost. You will have your chance yet again, if only you choose to make the right decisions this time."

"But you saved _me_ once before!" Cody said, now trying to bargain with the angel.

"If you could bring me back, couldn't you bring Zack back, too?"

"The laws of the spirit realm do not work that way."

"WHY NOT? Was I just some random fluke? Why can't you do the same for Zack?"

"We saved you from the brink of death. Zack has already passed on."

"Look... please... there must be something you can do! I don't care what happens to me for the rest of my life! Just please, I'll do anything! Anything!"

The angel merely stared at him.

"You have no idea what you are asking for."

"As if I give a rats ass!"

"Goodbye, Cody."

"No, wait!"

But the angels suddenly vanished, all at once.

"NO!"

Cody yelled.

"I KNOW YOU ARE ALL STILL HERE! DON'T DO THIS TO ME! SPEAK TO ME!"

But he got no response.

Frustrated, he fell to his knees and started pounding the ground with his fist.

(4)

His tears abated, at least for now, and he eventually got up to his feet again and started to exit the chamber.

Everything was so quiet now. Peaceful.

There was no aura of darkness here. Nor should there ever be again.

Cody walked. Through the hallway. Back to the basement. He headed for the lobby.

From there, he would head out of the Ghost Zone once and for all. Then he would have to start thinking about how to call his mother and tell her she was never going to see one of her sons again.

(5)

How had it all come to this?

The memories came in waves. Sweet, blissful memories.

He realized how pessimistic he'd been. Before, when he looked back on the memories of his childhood and teenage years, he had seen them with a glaze over his mind of just how wrong everything had gone.

Funny. All he could see were the good parts now. Sure, mom and dad had divorced, but it hadn't meant they were no longer a family.

It had brought him, his mom, and Zack closer together than ever before.

And he knew his dad still loved him and always would.

When his dad would come around when he was a kid, he would always make a sincere effort to make up for lost time as much as he could.

Cody knew that his dad himself was probably regretful about the way things had gone, but he knew that at least his dad had been trying for his kids' sake.

And Zack... he'd been a real asshole towards his brother. For all he knew, Zack had probably felt just as lonely as he had, and Cody had done nothing but repeatedly tried to push him away.

But it was the times when they did do stuff together, the times when they were a family, and Cody realized that there _were _many good parts. There should have been more, but Cody had had his head too far up his ass to be able to make the most of it.

His head started to flood with memories, starting from the earliest times that he could remember leading up to the present.

Such good memories...

The 'haunted house' had been kind of funny, now that he thought about it. It was almost as good as the time he had gotten Zack back with the help of a few friends, by staging a very elaborate prank in one of the Tipton's supposedly haun...

Cody's head was suddenly feeling fuzzy. Very fuzzy.

Wow. He must be more exhausted than he realized. He continued to reminisce.

Him and Zack, wearing each others' clothes and trying to see how many people they could fool.

Zack, in second grade, hiding a garter snake in the teachers' desk. He never ratted out that Cody was the one who had found it.

Zack faking dyslexia in middle school so he could get away with not studying.

_Wait... that never happened. We were never in that grade since mom and dad got divorced and..._

All the pranks they had pulled on Mr. Moseby.

_The guy from the train?_

Cody's favorite had been when they had put all those owls in his office...

Cody grabbed his head and rubbed his eyes. He didn't seem to be feeling well at all.

Everything was beginning to feel blurry and out of place.

He shook his head a bit, in hopes that might help clear his head.

The false memories faded.

_Huh. That was weird._

For a while there, he could have sworn he was starting to remember things that had not actually happened.

He was tired. Maybe he shouldn't leave right away. Maybe he should check out one of the rooms in the Tipton and crash for awhile. It was not like there was anything that was going to get him here, anyways.

Cody was in the restaurant. He had made it into the door that led directly into the lobby.

_Strange._

Cody thought. He sounded like he could hear voices on the other side.

As if the place was packed. But that wasn't right. Was it? Cody didn't feel so sure anymore.

Confused, but curious, he placed his hand on the handle for the door and pushed it open.


	29. Epilogue A: 1956

**Epilogue A**

**1956**

**Boston Herald - July 6, 1956**

**Tipton Hotel Chain Celebrates 25th Anniversary With Magnificent Ball**

The Tipton Hotel chain founded by entrepreneur George Tipton made headlines 25 years ago when it quickly rose as the worthy challenger to the other two major successful hotel chains in the nation, the Hilton and the St. Mark's. The Tipton two nights ago celebrated its 25th year anniversary with a magnificent ball held at the Boston location, which is the most recent hotel in the eponymous chain to have been erected.

George Tipton, who is temporarily on a leave of absence as CEO due to temporary illness, was in unusually high spirits that night, even having a bit of a mischievous streak. As a very unusual prank, a few of the staff and even guests were passed bizarre 'party favors', consisting of strange animal skins with symbols branded into them while Mr. Tipton was trying to convince people there was some sort of huge conspiracy going on.

Very strange behavior indeed for the party of the century, but George Tipton has been long known for his eccentric nature and sometimes strange sense of humor. But all in all, the prank only served to make the party even more lively and memorable.

Acting CEO Jack Cochran announced that the chain is working on plans for more locations, and expects to become international within the next decade. Jack, however, didn't seem to be getting into the party as much as George Tipton. He seemed rather preoccupied, and left the party early, citing the flu...

**Boston Herald - July 10th, 1956**

**Tipton Hotel Chain Acting CEO Found Dead: Suicide Suspected**

After founding the highly successful Tipton Hotel chain 25 years ago, owner and entrepreneur George Tipton has been on a leave of absence due to temporary illness. Jack Cochran, vice president of Tipton industries, was planned to temporarily take over operations as CEO for a full year while George recovered, however, he was found dead in his office yesterday morning at around eight PM.

His body was discovered by a horrified secretary, who had been trying to buzz him about an important meeting that he had not shown up to.

When she found him, he was lying on his back behind his desk, a strange sort of ceremonial looking dagger plunged through his heart, with much of his blood having drained out of him and soaked around him into the carpet.

Police were unable to identify any fingerprints on the blade other than his own. Suicide has been suspected.

Upon doing a thorough search of his office, the police found some rather disturbing things. It turns out that Jack had secretly been heavily involved in the occult, as a number of incredibly bizarre books and objects were found hidden in his desk.

It is unknown whether or not he killed himself as some sort of bizarre ritual, though the use of the ceremonial decorated dagger would seem to point to this as a disturbing possibility.

George Tipton is not being considered a suspect in this case. George, whose health has recently starting taking a huge turn for the better, is rumored to come back right away and return to his position as CEO of Tipton Industries...


	30. Epilogue B: 2005

**Epilogue B**

**2005**

(1)

"Are we there yet?" 11 year old Zack Martin asked for the hundredth time.

"Zack, for the umpteenth time, we've arrived! We're trying to find a parking spot." A disgruntled Carey Martin responded.

"But mommy, are we THERE yet?" Cody joined in.

They both giggled and smirked at each other as Carey let out another frustrated sigh.

"I tell you what. You boys don't drive me crazy till after we get up to our room and get unpacked, and we'll go out for ice cream afterwards. Deal?"

"DEAL!" Zack said, eyes lighting up, the idea of the delicious treat already beginning to make him salivate.

Cody almost laughed to himself as he watched Zack trying way too hard, as Carey continued to try and procure a parking spot.

Cody could have no problem being good when he REALLY needed to, but for Zack, staying still and keeping his mouth shut for more than five seconds was truly an ordeal for him.

As for Zack, he tried to occupy himself by turning out to look up at the magnificent huge Tipton Hotel.

Their new home. He smiled to himself with glee as he thought of all the trouble he could potentially get himself into here. This wouldn't be so bad at all.

He thought of his dad and felt an inner pang in his stomach. He tried to repress it.

_He's gone. That's just the way it is. Life moves on._

It's not like he wouldn't come around every now and then, anyways. Zack didn't let himself think of it anymore, and resumed thinking about how much FUN he was going to have here.

(2)

Moseby was livid. The entire lobby was in a pandemonium. Cats and dogs chased each other all over the lobby while their respective owners tried in vain to corral them. Cats shrieked, dogs jumped all over the furniture barking their heads off, guests screamed, there was fur everywhere. Zack was trying to stand still and look as oblivious and innocent as he possibly could. Cody was giving him that look of 'if-we-get-in-trouble-its-all-your-fault-and-I'm-only-keeping-quiet-because-I-don't-want-to-get-in-trouble-too'.

But it was not like Zack had MEANT to cause trouble. He had genuinely been trying to be good. Honest! So what if he had let out one pit bull out of its carrier while the lobby just happened to be filled with a bunch of people checking in for a cat/dog lovers convention? So what if the pit bull had ran out and tried to eat the cat one of the guests was holding, and it had nearly clawed her to death while trying to escape and the pit bull had almost taken a piece of her arm trying to get the cat? So what if the other dogs had gotten too excited and pulled on their leashes a little too hard to try and join in on the action? So what if more than several guests were too stupid to keep their animals safely in their carrying cages?

They had ALMOST gotten all the animals corralled. A huge German Sheppard dashed by the small table in the center of the lobby, and the vase sitting on it started to topple.

Moseby, whose suit was looking a tad shredded and had a few noticeable claw marks on his arms and face, saw it, and let out a strangled moan as he ran for it and made a running leap. He crashed onto the ground on his stomach, hands outstretched, as he just barely managed to catch the vase.

A dog came up behind him and started burying its nose in Moseby's crotch. A frustrated Moseby yelled at the dog to get off of him, and its owner quickly came and retrieved it.

Moseby slowly stood up, looking a little worse for the wear.

Carey was looking around just as shocked as everyone else. It wasn't long before she shot a suspecting glance at Zack and Cody.

Zack just gave a weak smile and acted innocently confused. Cody, who actually was innocent, simply gave a shrug.

(3)

"Well, now, I'm terribly sorry about that mishap, but I can ASSURE you things like that never happen at my hotel!"

As they sat in Moseby's office, the man looked like he wanted nothing more than to go home and take a nice long shower. Or cry.

"It's actually normally quite peaceful here, and I assure you that you and your boys are going to absolutely love it here!"

"Well, I'm absolutely sure we will. And I'm pretty sure as long as we stay here nothing like this will EVER happen again!"

She shot a look at Zack and Cody, and Cody's heart fell as he realized they probably weren't going to be having ice cream that night. He could have punched Zack.

"I hope not. I usually run a very tight ship here. Now, let me go and get your room key, and I'll fetch Esteban and he'll show you up straight away. And then I think I'm going to need to take the rest of the day off..."

Zack wondered if Mr. Moseby would have been so enthusiastic about trying to save face and give them a warm welcome if he had known that this whole mess had been Zack's fault.

It was a good thing he had not caught on. Yet.

(4)

As Esteban took their bags and escorted them to the elevator, Zack was relieved that Moseby hadn't caught onto them, scared that their mom probably had a pretty good idea of what had really happened, and elated at how much fun this place was going to be.

Yes, it wouldn't be so bad after all. Him and Cody were going to have a lot of fun. Zack happened to turn around and casually glanced at the corner near the manager's desk. He wasn't really sure what prompted him to, but he felt a cold chill go up his spine when he did.

It was actually gone in a split second, and Zack could have sworn he was only imagining what he saw.

Maybe it was simply brought on by the sheer excitement of the day that his imagination was now playing tricks on him. He gulped and tried to push it out of his mind, and tried occupying his thoughts once again of all the fun he was going to have.

But he couldn't quite do it.

Cody seemed to notice something had changed in Zack's face and asked him in the elevator if he was okay.

Zack grinned his trademark Zack grin and said everything was fine. And it was. Though he still felt a bit of a chill at what he thought he saw.

Over there in the corner, standing there, watching him... but he had to have imagined it. But he also felt like he knew the name. He didn't know how, but he just did.

He thought he had seen a Dark Man.


	31. Epilogue C: 2018

**Epilogue C**

**2018**

Cody Martin entered the busy hotel lobby and walked at a relaxed place.

It was just as he remembered. He felt a warm wave of nostalgia wash over him.

The lobby was moderately packed. Mostly business people, like it usually was. Bellboys ran to-and-fro taking guests' luggage. Norman still had his usual place at the door. Irene was sitting at the concierge desk. There was a teenage girl working the candy counter. Cody had never seen her before, but it struck Cody that so much time had passed it was very unlikely Maddie or Nia still worked here.

_Yeah. We're not teenagers anymore. Though it kinda still feels like yesterday._

Yesterday, in which they were setting up a fake sleepover in London's suite while she was away so Cody could impress some girl, and London just happened to change plans and show back up.

Yesterday, in which Zack was knocking over a display in a room set up for an entomologists' convention and releasing a bunch of wood eating bugs all throughout the hotel.

Yesterday, in which Zack was convincing Cody to skip school, leading to him being in a music video by one of his favorite bands, and having the time and subsequent grounding of his life.

He took a few steps around the lobby, reveling in the nostalgia, his heart suddenly aching for the years long gone.

Man. He and Zack had really had some good times growing up in this place. He found himself wishing he could go back.

Not that he would really want to trade in the life he had now. Especially with another kid on the way.

But still, he wouldn't have minded going back and living the whole thing all over again. He was sad that it was all gone now.

"Cody?"

Cody turned around to see Marion Moseby looking at him with a very perplexed look.

"May I ask why are you standing in the middle of my lobby without a shirt?"

Cody looked down at himself, confused. He was indeed not wearing a shirt. He wasn't sure why. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure why he was here in the first place. He hadn't even remembered coming here!

Cody looked up at Moseby, completely lost for an answer.

He kind of choked on his words as he wracked his brain for some kind of answer.

"Uh... Long story? It's kind of hard to explain. You wouldn't happen to have anything I could borrow, would you?"

Moseby was still giving him a look.

"I have one in my car. I always keep back-up clothing on hand at all times. Bit of a habit I picked up from being around you and Zack for so long."

Cody fought back a chuckle.

Moseby headed out to his car and returned with the shirt. Cody waited in Moseby's office until he got back.

"Thanks! I owe you one!" He said, slipping on the button down shirt.

"So... do I get an explanation? Or have you and Zack simply decided to come back and haunt me for old times sake?"

"Oh, it's just me here. I'm kinda taking a nostalgia tour."

"Ah. Yes. I take those sometimes myself. But that still doesn't explain why you were walking around my lobby without a shirt."

Cody smiled sheepishly.

"Got mugged by a homeless guy."

It was the best concocted answer he could come up with.

"Oh, my. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. He didn't take anything else. Just the shirt."

"How odd."

"Yeah. Been a heck of a day so far. I'm surprised to see you here. I thought Esteban was managing the hotel now and you got fired from the company after you told Mr. Tipton off on the ship."

"Fired? Pish-posh. The guy can barely remember his own daughter's name. Though London did pull some strings to help keep me on. She's surprisingly not as selfish as you would think sometimes."

"Yeah. I remember that one Christmas where she randomly showed up with a bunch of gifts for orphaned kids on the boat. I thought that hell was starting to grow icicles."

"Indeed."

"So, what happened to Esteban?"

"Esteban is now managing the Tipton in New York City. He and his wife are doing quite well. I ended up back at my old position here. Truthfully, I kind of pushed to come back to this place. I missed it more than I thought I would back on the boat."

"Must be a dream come true now that you have peace and quiet without me and Zack around."

"That it is indeed." Moseby said smiling, though strangely Cody thought he detected a look of almost regret... no, that couldn't be.

"So, how about you? Did you marry Bailey yet?"

Cody grinned. "Yep! Got two kids now, one more on the way!"

Cody flipped out his wallet and showed Moseby the picture of his wife and two boys.

"OH! How magnificent! They both look a lot alike!"

"Twins!" Cody said.

"Interesting. So I guess now you get the chance to go through everything you put me through all those years."

"Yeah, I guess." Cody said still smiling. "Mom has been saying the exact same thing ever since they arrived."

"How's Zack doing?"

"Well, I'm sure you've heard about him on the news by now."

"I have indeed."

"I still can't believe his stupid nightclub idea actually took off!"

"Well, Zack did have really good success with the teen club you guys opened here when you were kids. If only you hadn't nearly burned the place down."

Cody laughed.

"Yeah."

"How 'bout Zack? He ever planning on tying the knot anytime soon?

"Maya gets back from the Peace Corps next month. Her and Zack are planning on eloping."

"So he really is going to end up married?" Moseby shook his head. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"I could say the same thing about you. How's Ms. Tutw... err... Emma?"

"Oh, she's doing great! If you have time, you should come out to our place sometime. I know she would love to see you again!"

Cody nodded. "I'd like that."

Then he got a mischievous grin on his face.

"Sooooo..." he said.

"Any little bundles of joy on the way?"

Moseby laughed and pulled out his wallet and flashed a picture to Cody. There was a boy who looked about 4 or 5.

"My son."

Cody gawked.

It was surreal enough that Moseby had actually found someone to settle down with in his life, but it was a whole other thing that he actually now had a kid of his own. Cody had only been joking when he said that. He couldn't believe it that Moseby really DID end up having a kid.

"Wow. He's cute. I can't believe you actually went for it."

Moseby placed his wallet back in his pocket.

"Well, Emma really wanted kids, and I thought about it very heavily, and decided it might be worth it to try. I'm really glad I did. I never realized just how fulfilling it could be to be a father."

"Yes it is." Cody said.

"So, how's London doing?" Cody asked.

"Oh, she's actually changed a whole lot."

"Oh really?"

"Yes. She's actually started applying herself more and more. Becoming more responsible."

"LONDON?" Cody said. "I don't believe it."

"Yes. It's been quite bizarre from my standpoint. It's happened very gradually, but I think that there may actually be hope for her yet."

"That's a shock. Have you ever heard anything from Maddie?" Cody said, out of curiosity.

"Oh, I did hear from her recently! She's doing great! She's graduated college with a masters in child psychology, and now she's working steadily and going back to take some extra courses."

"That's pretty cool. I'm glad things worked out for her."

"Yes, indeed."

"What extra courses is she taking?"

"Paranormal Sciences."

Cody took a moment to let that sink in.

"Paranormal Sciences?"

"You know, ghost hunting, study of the supernatural, that sort of stuff."

"That's a... very interesting degree."

"She said it was something she was taking just for fun."

They talked for a while more. Mostly about old memories. Then Cody eventually sighed and said:

"Where has the time gone?"

"I don't know. It seems like only yesterday that you were arriving with your mother and terrorized my lobby for the first time with a bunch of cats and dogs..."

"You knew that was us?"

Moseby looked at him with that look on his face that Cody knew all to well.

"I do now."

Cody laughed. "To be fair, I actually had nothing to do with that one. That was all Zack."

"I didn't figure it out till much later when you two started terrorizing my hotel on a regular basis. I finally thought about it and put two and two together."

"Funny thing. That wasn't the only time there were cats and dogs running loose in the lobby because of us."

"And then you can't forget the rats. Or the horse. Or the bugs."

They smiled in nostalgic memory.

_Strange. _Cody thought. Moseby sounded like he was actually fond of the memories. He wondered if such a thing was actually possible.

Actually, Moseby seemed downright completely different. It seemed he had changed a lot over the years. Married. A kid. He seemed a lot more mellow than the old high strung Moseby he remembered.

He hadn't really thought too much about how much time had passed since he had graduated and left the boat. It only felt like a few months ago, really. Now Cody began to realize that it had actually been about seven years.

His mind drifted to all the memories he had had of this place. He probably would have given most anything to go back and relive it all over again.

Strangely, he had an inkling Moseby felt the same way.

They talked for about an hour, and then he had to get back to work, and Cody left to go take a stroll around the city.

He was going to meet up with Moseby and Emma at their house later for dinner.

As he left the hotel, he had a beaming smile on his face. He couldn't explain it, but somehow he felt much lighter in his soul than he'd ever felt in his life.

He was so grateful for everything. His family. His friends. His life. Everything.

He couldn't have asked for more, and couldn't have cared less whether he got anything more.

He suddenly remembered he had felt his phone vibrating in his pocket while talking to Moseby. He pulled it out and found that Zack had tried to call and left a voice message.

_Strange. _Cody thought. Zack didn't call all that much out of the blue. He was so busy with his new business that he usually only called when he really needed something.

Cody didn't mind so much. He was actually glad when his brother called, for any reason. He missed the times they had spent together as kids when they were much closer.

One of his few regrets in life was that their careers meant they didn't get to see each other that often any more. He hadn't heard from Zack in three months.

As he listened to the voice message, he was rather surprised.

_"Hey, uh... Cody? I was just calling because I... well, actually, for some reason, I'm suddenly not sure why I called. Well, I know why, it's just... ah, screw it. I was just... I know I've been busy a lot lately and we haven't really had time to talk much. I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to get together sometime? Just call me back when you get the chance. Miss you. Bye."_


	32. Epilogue D: 1956 II

**Epilogue D**

**1956 Part II**

The room was dark. The only source of light was the candle at the center of the table.

The candle was encased in a type of glass that cast an eerie blue light that illuminated only the immediate area of the table.

The table was covered with etchings. Occult symbols.

About ten people sat around the circular table, hardly moving at all. They were wearing long robes with the hoods pulled over their heads.

"Jack is dead." One of them said.

Another one spoke. This one was different from the others. He was wearing a golden mask that looked like some kind of grotesque demon.

"It is a shame. He was careless. I'm presuming we have George to thank for that."

"It will be in the news tomorrow. Jack was found in his office this morning with a ceremonial dagger stabbed through his heart. The authorities found all sorts of occult artifacts in his office."

"And the Necronomicon?"

"We believe George took that."

"Jack should never have left that stuff lying around where it could have easily been found. Our order must operate under the utmost secrecy. The reason we can operate as we do is that people don't know that we exist. His death was well deserved."

Another piped up.

"But now we have George to worry about."

"George is of little threat to us." Demon Mask spoke. "Just as much as Mark Crawley is. The hole is closed now. There is no way to retrieve it. It's best to just let sleeping dogs lie. Let George keep his copies of the Necronomicon. They cannot be destroyed. The best hope we have is that they fall into the wrong hands again, just as the first one fell into his."

"But George managed to somehow seal the hole. Should we have not been trying to interfere stronger? We knew he was searching for the sealing incantation!"

"This has been frustrating you for a while, hasn't it, Jonathan?" Demon Mask asked.

"I do not understand your methods, sir."

"The Tipton Hotel was merely a test. Whether or not George succeeded is irrelevant. There is only one hole on the planet we're really interested in. Anything else is mere entertainment."

"With all due respect, sir, may I ask exactly what the point of the test was? Because from where I stand, it doesn't seem we accomplished anything at all."

"George was not the one who sealed the hole." Demon Mask said.

"He wasn't? But who? There was no one else." Jonathan said, surprised.

"But there was. You simply do not realize it because history has changed."

Jonathan got a disbelieving look on his face.

"History... changed?"

"Time is merely an illusion much like the world we live in. Time can be manipulated much like any other force in the world. The experiment has proved this. By sealing up the hole, the souls were returned to their respectful times and Cody Martin subsequently sent the world down a completely different destiny."

"Cody Martin?"

"Yes. He was the one who sealed up the hole. Not George."

"S.. should we kill him?"

"You would have a long wait, I'm afraid. He won't be born until 1994."

"You know what I think? I think you're full of it! I think you're just trying to make up stuff to cover up for your blunder! In fact, I think it goes much deeper than that! I'm actually starting to think you DON'T want the Glorious Appearing to take place! I would dare say you are trying to stall it!"

"I can assure you," Demon Mask said. "That is most surely not the case."

"Yeah? Well I've had enough of your inaction and inane babbling. I say it's time for action! I've been thinking long and hard about this, and I think it's time our order had a new leader!"

He pulled a gun out of his robe, aimed, and squeezed off several shots. The others around the table gasped and ducked down. The bullets hit Demon Mask directly, but a blue aura flickered around him as they as they struck, and he continued sitting there unscathed as the bullets merely bounced away harmlessly.

Demon Mask pulled out a gun of his own, too. It was very small, so small it was smaller than his hand.

But as Demon Mask squeezed off several shots of his own, a pulsing blue light shot from the tip and hit the would-be usurper dead on.

The impact was so powerful John flew up in the air and writhed before crashing to the ground.

Even though everyone's faces were relatively concealed by their robes, there was a consensus of shock and fear.

"Does anyone now want to continue to question the possibility of time travel?" Demon Mask said.

Nobody did.

"There are many things in this world which you are all still ignorant of. I am still ignorant of many things, too. But history is careening towards a destiny that has long been prophesied. The Glorious Appearing of our Dark Lord _will _happen. But things must happen precisely a certain way. And it is up to us. We must pave the history from whence our Dark Lord can be summoned. That is my motivation. Stall it? No. No. I'm merely helping it along. It will be a much glorious day. And I can assure you... stick with me and you will see this day come to pass with your very eyes."

Nobody doubted that Demon Mask was wrong anymore.


	33. Epilogue E: 2122

**Epilogue E**

**2122**

_The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. _

_Revelations 13:1_


	34. Epilogue F: 2019

**Epilogue F**

**2019**

_"You don't know what you're asking for."_

**The End**


End file.
